Gokusen 3: The Girls of Class 3-D!
by Sydney-Chan7
Summary: Two female high school students start to attend Akadou right after Chairman Akagi created a new co-ed program, hoping to create a Co-Ed high school in the future. Watch as these two girls start to shake things up a bit, in a way than the boys even expected. Warning: this fanfic also includes a lot of mature themes. Rated: T, Romance/Friendship, YamatoxOC, RenxOC.
1. Hinako's Description

~Hinako's Description~

Name: Takaishi Hinako (Maeda Atsuko)

Nickname: Hina-chan from _**Hina**_ ko (A nickname that Kamiya created)

Age: 17, 18 in the Graduation Special, 19 in the Movie

Height: 5'3" (160 cm)

Eyes: Dark Brown

Hair: Dark Brown (shoulder-length), long and curled in the Graduation special and Movie

Personality: Very careful, silent, very strong, calm, sometimes cold, bright, strong-willed, mature, intelligent (like Izumi), somewhat dense, very good adviser and listener

Role: The 1st female leader of Akadou High's 3-D

~Family~

Takaishi Hiroki (Uchi Hiroki) (Brother, Deceased)

Unnamed Father (Deceased)

Unnamed Mother (Deceased)

Ogata Yamato (Friend/Boyfriend/Husband)

Ogata Hiroto (Son)

Ogata Yumiko (Daughter)

School: Kuro Saigai (formerly) Akadou (current)

Class: 3-D (Akadou)

Uniform: Hinako is wearing her old school uniform from Kuro Saigai All-Girls Private High School. She wears a short gray skirt, a collared white shirt, a navy blazer, and knee-high socks. She also wore a pair of gold lace-up hightops, and a gold chain necklace with a rectangular pendant. Hinako also wore two bracelets on her wrist, one pink and one blue. These bracelets held a deep meaning to her. They were given to Hinako by her older brother Hiroki right before he died. Outside of school, she wears a pair of thinly rimmed glasses due to bad eyesight and when she goes to school, she changed from glasses to contact lenses.

Likes: People living their lives with serious, people who fight for a good reason, fighting, sleeping, cooking, studying, cute babies and kids, shellfish sushi, loves playing pool and darts, sleeping, bargain hunting, baking, home economics, being with her friends (Izumi, Yamato, Ren, Honjo, Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya)

Dislikes: Bullies, people not taking or living their lives with serious, biology, people who fight without a reason, cheaters, spicy food, boys looking under her skirt when the wind blows it up, seeing her friends giving hurt

Weaknesses: Seeing a lot of blood caused Hinako to remember the day that her brother Hiroki was killed

Cellphone: It looks like Yamato's cellphone expect it will be the color gold (just like her gold high tops she wears) with a red heart sticker on the front of it

About: Hinako is an independent girl who barely cries and never shows her feelings of loneliness to anyone; besides it gets to her limits. Also, she tries to advise and listen to other people who also are having difficult lives of their own. Hinako looked up to her older brother Hiroki very dearly. Hiroki encouraged his younger sister to live life seriously. After Hiroki was killed by a group of yankees, Hinako blamed herself for her brother's death. A year after Hiroki's death, Hinako became a student at Kuro Saigai All-Girls School, where she met her best friend and right-hand man Izumi. At first, Izumi targeted Hinako, considering the other girl to be a rival she had to defeat. When the two fought, Hinako was the clear victor of the match. They started their partnership and friendship out of common respect for each other. Hinako soon got to the top of Kuro Saigai along with Izumi. Since Hiroki's death, Hinako has lived by herself in a small apartment, and pays for the apartment rent as well as her needs by working part-time as a maid waiter at a maid cafe.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **I got most of the ideas from Atsuko Maeda's character in the series Majisuka Gakuen. Including her catchphrase: 'In this world, there is nothing but serious'. Anytime we someone said the word 'serious' it flips a switch within herself. I also got the glasses from Majisuka Gakuen as well. But she only wears when she's home at her apartment. I've also gotten ideas from Yankee-Kun to Megane-Chan as well as Kenka Bancho Otome Love's Battle Royale, that's where I got the name 'Hinako'.**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **Hinako means 'Child of harmanious days' in Japanese because I thought Hinako's name was similar to Atsuko's name. Atsuko means 'child of profound emotions'. Hinako's Japanese surname Takaishi means "tall stone".**

 **Since the beginning of AKB48, she, along with Team A captain Takahashi Minami, have been in the forefront of the group.**


	2. Izumi's Description

~Izumi's Description~

Name: Sakurai/Suzuki Izumi (Takahashi Minami)

Nickname: Mi-chan from Izu _ **mi**_ (A nickname created by Kamiya)

Age: 17, 18 in the Graduation Special, 19 in the Movie

Height: 4'10" (147 cm)

Eyes: Dark Brown

Hair: Light Brown (tied up into a loose side ponytail), in the Graduation SP she cuts her hair into a layered bob with a bit pulled up into a small ponytail to the right side of her head and in the Movie Izumi's hair grows out nearly reaches her shoulders and she gets a small section of her hair at the back of her head which is tied into a small braid

Personality: Strong, careful, short-tempered, sometimes childish, very intelligent, always bright, sometimes cold, good adviser, and kind-hearted

Role: The 2nd female leader of Akadou High's Class 3-D

~Family~

Sakurai Takumi (Takachi Noboru) (Adoptive Father)

Sakurai Kaori (Horiuchi Keiko) (Adoptive Mother)

Takazaki Giichi (Biological Father, Deceased)

Suzuki Mizuki (Wakamura Mayumi) (Biological Mother)

Kazama Ren (Friend/Boyfriend)

School: Kuro Saigai (formerly) Akadou (current)

Class: 3-D (Akadou)

Uniform: Izumi is wearing the same uniform as Hinako which is consisting a collared white shirt, short gray skirt, and a navy blazer. She also wore a pair of ankle black lace-up boots, with black knee-high socks.

Likes: Drawing and reading manga, fighting, playing pranks, all animals but cats are her favorite, helping babies and little kids, loves to play a lot of darts and pool, dreaming of becoming a doctor, jokes, the colors black, white, and pink, being with her friends (Hinako, Yamato, Ren, Honjo, Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya)

Dislikes: A lot of preppy girls, her girlish qualities, too much make-up, police officers, nerds, seeing her friends getting hurt, dresses, bullies, and boys looking under her skirt when the wind blows it up to her panties

Cellphone: It looks like Kura's cellphone expect it will be the color silver and it would have a little cat sticker on it because she loves cats

About: Izumi and Hinako met in their first year at Kuro Saigai, shortly after the death of Hinako's brother. At first, Izumi targeted Hinako, considering the other girl to be a rival she had to defeat. When the two fought, Hinako was the clear victor of the match. After their fight, she developed a strong friendship with Hinako by becoming her right-hand man. Izumi openly admitted that Hinako was the only person to ever defeat her in a fight. The two of them went on to get to the top of Kuro Saigai together. Izumi promised to protect her no matter what from anyone who dares to harm her, and she and Hinako became the best of friends ever since. One night, when Izumi couldn't sleep, she overheard her parents talking about her being adopted. After this shocking discovery, she began to subconsciously distant herself from her so-called parents and focuse on studying to become a doctor.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **I gotten ideas of Minami Takahashi's character from Majisuka Gakuen Season 1 as Minami Ono. Including from Rinka Himeji in Yankee-kun to Megane-Chan. After watching Majisuka Gakuen Season 1 Episode 10, I knew that I found who could be Hinako's right-hand man in the story or…right-hand woman. Well, you get the idea. She'll be similar to Ren a little bit and will fall for Ren. Opps, spoiler alert there…**

 **Also, I got ideas from** **Tatsuki Arisawa in Bleach.**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **Izumi means 'spring' or 'fountain' and Sakurai means 'well of the cherry blossom' because Minami's birthday is in the spring on April 8** **th** **.**

 **Minami was the original forefront of the AKB48 group. Then, she shared the forefront of the group with Team A member Atsuko Maeda.**


	3. Episode 1 Part 1

**Summary**

 **Following the events and scenes of Gokusen Season 3, Yamaguchi accepts the offer to work at Akadou Academy. Once again, she had to deal with a 3D class full of delinquents, where two rival groups are always at each other's throats and fighting for the leadership of the school. However, things are about to get very interesting when two** _ **female**_ **students start to attend Akadou and join class 3-D, after Chairman Akagi creates a new Co-Ed program in hopes of creating a Co-Ed school in the future. Watch as these two girls start to shake things up a bit, in a way than the boys expected. What are the girls' secrets? Well, Yankumi and the 3-D boys are determined to find out, while learning about themselves and adulthood. Warning: This fanfic includes mature themes like teen pregnancy, mental breakdowns, suicidal & depression thoughts, sexual assault, horrible parenting, and mild sexuality. Drama-verse, but some changes to fit into the story.**

 **Rated: T, Romance/Friendship, Ogata Yamato x OC, Kazama Ren x OC**

Episode 1 – Part 1: The New Students of Akadou are…GIRLS?!

The letter 'D' can be the start of many words, but at the Akadou Academy High School, it simply reveals the problematic class 3-D, a classroom filled with nothing but troublemakers that the other teachers have given up on. Throughout the decades, only boys were allowed to attend Akadou. But this year, the tradition forever will change, because the school will become co-ed institution.

~Inside Akadou Academy High School, Class 3-D~

One boy was parading around with a toy rifle. There were a few boys standing and messing around on top of desks. Two boys, one with an afro and one with straightened hair were doing some weird wave dance with their arms. A bald-headed boy was doing something with a spoon, probably trying to bend it. Trash was being thrown all around the room, some of the students were spray painting graffiti on the walls and some were just fighting. And finally, way in the very back of the classroom, there's six boys, three on one side and three on the other side were having a standoff and they were about to fight or just standing there looking intensely at each other.

"This teacher must be gutsy to go into 3-D alone."

"I wonder if it'll really be okay?"

"It will be. This teacher gotten many delinquents to graduate at several other schools."

"But those guys in 3-D aren't a cakewalk."

"You people keep saying "That 3-D," What do you mean by that?" A new teacher asked.

"3-D consists of the worst troublemakers from 1st and 2nd years."

"Oh, I see…so 3-D is." The new teacher muttered to herself writing something down in her little notebook probably about what he said.

"Basically, a den of villainy."

"Frankly, it's a stain on our school."

"This teacher is going to get that group under control. Such confidence! This teacher is indeed our school's savior! He'll straighten them out until the female students for the Co-Ed program get here."

Meanwhile in class 3-D, it was still noisy, and the two groups were still glaring at each other until the noise of the sliding door opened, getting the attention of the whole class. What came through the door and stepped infront of the calligraphy filled chalkboard like he owned the place was…a monkey with a ridiculous hairdo wearing a red jersey and thin rectangle glasses.

"I'm Sawatari, starting today as Head Teacher of Akadou Academy. At the same time, I'm also taking over this class." He finished off with a smile that looked way forced. The boys just stared at him with a certain glint in their eyes. "Take your seats." Sawatari instructed.

Nobody moved, just glared at him.

"Take your seats!" Sawatari screeched.

The boys, who kept their glares on Sawatari took their seats and sit down.

Sawatari did a fist bump at his effort, and then he looked back at the class.

"Alright guys, listen up. You only have one more precious year in high school. You don't understand just how important it is. I'll teach you that. Got this year, let's work hard together!" He said all of that, while doing some weird dramatic movements and a fake, creepy smile.

Seconds later, all of the boys got out of their seats and literally thrown Sawatari out of the classroom like a pinball in a pinball machine.

Few Minutes Later…

"Are you alright, Head Teacher Saruwatari?" Takano-san asked as she tries to prTakaishiunce his name.

"It's Sawatari." Head Teacher corrected her and winced at the sting of the prioxcide applied to his cut. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"I'm sorry." Takano-san apologized. "Sawatari." She wrote down a reminder of that.

"For someone of Mr. Sawatari's caliber to fail…Damn you 3-D!" Yajima-sensei muttered.

"Takano-sensei, make sure to be careful of the guys in 3-D as well!" Tsuruoka-sensei warned her.

"They won't take new teachers seriously." Ayukawa-sensei added.

"Don't ever show your back to those guys." Yajima-sensei commented.

"Got it! Don't show my back." She wrote down that advice.

"New teachers sure are nice. They're enthusiastic and earnest. They sure are." Hatoyama-sensei commented creepily.

"I didn't think that I would be disappointed on the very first day." A sudden voice said.

Everyone looked towards the voice of Chairman Akagi.

"Chairman!" Sawatari said as he quickly got up from his seat. "Good morning!" He bowed with the other teachers as they said good morning as well.

"Good morning." Chairman greeted. "Head Teacher Sawatari."

"Yes?"

"You have thus far…at Shirokin and Kurogin academies…splendidly guided the trouble students and seen them achieve graduation. That's what you bring with you with this transfer, right?"

"That's correct." Head Teacher said.

"If things continue like this, you will…end up sharing the same fate as the principal." Chairman Akagi stated.

"The same fate?" Sawatari said.

All of the other teachers looked to the empty desk that said: Principal.

"The principal wasn't useful, so he was fired." Ayukawa-sensei said cheerfully turning back to Sawatari with a smile.

"Please wait Chairman!" Sawatari exclaimed.

"What?"

"I know a teacher who can take care of those guys! This teacher has amazing drive. Just by being there they will shut up. Those that are laughing might end up crying." Sawatari said as he described a little bit too dramatically.

"Can you bring such an amazing teacher…to our school?" Chairman Akagi asked.

"I will take full responsibility for getting this teacher." Sawatari assured.

"Can I count on you this time?" The Chairman asked him again with a pleased look.

"Of course." Sawatari nodded.

"That's great, isn't it?" Yajima-san said as the other teachers agreed by clapping.

"And…where is this person now?" The Chairman asked him, curiously.

"She's probably on a southern island passionately facing her students." Sawatari said, looking at whatever he's looking at.

The female students don't enroll in Akadou until the very next day…

~The Next Day~

Two teenage girls at the age of seventeen were standing before of the gates of Akadou Academy. The girl on the left has dark brown, shoulder-length hair with sharp dark brown eyes and a little round face. She had a cool pale tint with a skinny physique as she stood at five-three (5'3, 160 cm). She was wearing her old school uniform from Kuro Saigai which is a white-collared shirt, short gray skirt, and a navy blazer. She has a pair of gold lace-up hightops, that matches a gold chain necklace with a rectangular pendant around her neck, and two bracelets on her left wrist, one pink and one blue. Her name is Takaishi Hinako. The girl on the right has light brown hair that is tied up into a loose side ponytail with large dark brown eyes. She appeared to be small and petite, but very athletic with a light golden undertone as she stood at four-ten (4'10, 147 cm). She was wearing the uniform as Hinako, a white-collared short, short gray skirt, and a navy blazer. She wore a pair of ankle black lace up boots, with knee-high black socks. Her name is Sakurai Izumi.

"Here we are, Akadou Academy!" Izumi said as she looked up at the sign that was printed with 'Akadou Academy High School' on it. "You better watch out Akadou! We're coming for you!"

Hinako inhaled some air and then exhaled. "Can you believe it? For our last year of high school…we'll be coming here for now on, huh?"

For their last year of high school, the two girls will start attending Akadou for a co-ed program that was created by the Chairman of Akadou, Akagi Ryoko, who wanted to change the school to an all boy and girls high school. So, Akadou decided to open the registration for anyone to apply before this year's graduation. If it would be a success, then next year Akadou would be accepting students by both genders. The plan was to put two female students in each class from Class 3A to Class 3D. To everyone's surprise, a few girls enrolled. Hinako and Izumi both originally went to an all-girls school called Kuro Saigai. Akiyama Yuriko, the Chairman of Kuro Saigai Girls' School agreed to allow a few of her students to be part of the program, but only Takaishi Hinako and Sakurai Izumi passed the exam.

"I heard that Akadou Academy is well-known of causing problems." Izumi said as she paused in thought. "Although I don't want to judge them so quickly. But we can't trust them quickly before getting to know them yet. They could turn out to be maniacs underneath the delinquency. I don't want to deal with some trouble making boys in the beginning of the year."

"Oh, I see, so you really want to deal with troublemakers later in the year then?" Hinako asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe." Izumi simply said.

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens." Hinako replied.

Suddenly Hinako and Izumi notice the boys of Akadou just stared at them as they walked by them. They notice all the looks they were given by the boys. Wanting to be kind, the two girls looked at some of the boys and they both waved at them with smiles. Izumi could have sworn that one of them was swooning and waving with grins.

"It's like they've never seen a girl before." Izumi whispered to Hinako.

"Well, this is an all-boys school, Izumi." Hinako pointed out. "They're just curious about girls coming to their school. Don't you think?"

"I guess so." Izumi simply said to her. "Let's go!" With that said, Izumi started to laugh as she ran through the school gate while her best friend Hinako stayed behind and sighed.

"Oh, Izumi…sometimes you're just too much…" Hinako said, softly to herself while following after her through the school gate as well.

Meanwhile in Class 3-D, the boys were up in a very big uproar, being loud and rambunctious, that nobody heard the door open and close as well as the footsteps that walked up to the podium. They didn't even hear the very energetic good morning by their new homeroom teacher.

"Good morning, everyone!" A feminine voice shouted, as she slammed her hands on the podium.

Everyone stopped to look at the woman standing at the podium. She was rather a small woman, appearing to be five-three; she had round glasses, her black hair was styled in pigtails and she was wearing a red jersey. In other words, she looked pretty much dorky. However, the tone of her voice was very strong and fearless. She appeared to be confident and smiled brightly to the class.

"As of today, I'm your new homeroom teacher. My name is Yamaguchi Kumiko."

Everyone in the class looked at the new teacher, none of them said a single word.

"My specialty is math. My nickname is Yankumi, incidentally single. Nice to meet you!" Yamaguchi finished her introduction with a smile.

After a few seconds, the boys went back to being loud, completely ignoring their new teacher.

Yamaguchi looked around the room to scan the graffti and crude words on the wall. She just simply sighed and walked to the middle of the classroom. "Everyone, sit down!" She yelled out, but the boys kept ignoring her. "Please be quiet! Quiet!" She yelled out again, but the boys didn't listen.

"Don't fuck with me!" One of the students named Honjo Kengo yelled out as he had his hands on someone's shirt collar and shook him violently.

Another student with the wacky hairdo looked scared as he shakily pointed at a chair. "Hey, hey, this is my seat…"

"I want to sit here though…" Honjo responded, with his tone in a mocking manner while pointing at the chair.

Another student and Honjo's friend Kamiya Shunsuke thought the whole thing was hilarious. "Do it, do it!" He encourages him with a waving hand.

"Do it, do it?" The wacky hairdo boy looked at him like he was crazy.

"I said get out of here!" Honjo screamed, manhandling the guy.

"Honjo!" A loud voice yelled out, in a commanding voice. Everyone in the class stopped and looked at Ogata Yamato, a leader in Class 3-D. Yamaguchi's eyes were filled with curiosity as she looked at him. Then he snorted quickly before frowning. "Let it go."

Honjo sighed and threw the wacky hairdo guy aside before sitting on a desk. Yamato rose up from his chair with his hands in his pockets and scanned the class, his eyes were hard and intimidating.

"What are you looking at?" He growled.

The class quickly turned their gazes away from him sheepishly and went back to goofing off. Yamato cracked his neck, trying to get rid of the annoying feeling in his chest.

' _He's the leader, huh?_ ' Yamaguchi thought to herself.

Suddenly the door busted open, revealing three more students. Kazama Ren and his crew, Ichimura Rikiya and Kuraki Satoru.

"Ah we're here!" Ren announced to the class.

The three entered the classroom and were greeted by their classmates with grins and salutes.

"Man, you're early." One of the boys called out to Ren.

' _Huh? Is this the leader?_ ' Yamaguchi thought. She was now confused, but it seems that Class 3D has not one leader, but actually two leaders.

Their happy faces immediately turned into sneers as they looked over at Yamato and his crew. Kazama Ren and Ogata Yamato glared at each other, as their friends glared along with them. Yamaguchi looked at both groups before stepping over to Ren and his group.

"Hey, are you three tardy?" Yamaguchi asked.

Ren and his crew just looked at her, didn't say anything, then Ren looked over at the boy standing in front of his group. "Ah, Wakatsuki-kun?"

"Yes?" The boy in the army camouflage shirt flinched as he turned around to face Ren.

"Who is this?" Ren asked.

"The homeroom teacher." Wakatsuki saluted.

"I'm Yamaguchi Kumiko." Yamaguchi said, with a smile. "My nickname is Yankumi. Nice to meet you."

The three boys were silent for a second, until Kuraki spoke up. "So, I was thinking that the new teacher, Takano is seriously cute!"

"I go for the nice bodies like nurse Sakura." Ichimura swooned, as he stood on the chair and did a so-called sexy pose. Ren and Kuraki smiled in agreement.

Yamaguchi looked irritated that she was being ignored. Kuraki pulled out some cards from his pockets. "Let's play cards!" He exclaimed. "I won't lose today." He declared to Ren.

"You'll get no pity from me for losing again." Ren teased.

Kuraki frowned at the audacity of the new homeroom teacher. "Hey, that's mine. Give it back." He demanded her.

"I'll just hold onto these for you." She said, not bothered by his tone at all.

Kuraki got up from his chair with a 'tsk' and lifted his fist. Everyone had all their eyes on the scene. Kuraki proceeded to punch Yamaguchi, only for her to duck quickly, causing Kuraki flying over her, to fall onto the floor face first. Everyone in class, expect for Yamato and Ren, jumped to their feet in shock.

No one said a single word, as they watched Yamaguchi rise up with a coin in her hand.

"I found 100 yen on the floor." Yamaguchi said, innocently.

The boys scoffed and sat back in their seats, like nothing happened.

"Hey!" Kuraki growled, as he got up and dusted off his jacket. "Don't get cocky." He went to grab Yamaguchi's hand, but she grabbed it in mid-air and the two appeared to be arm wrestling. Kuraki tries to slam her hand down, but her grip was strong as she lowers it and put the yen coin in his hand. "You have to take care of your money." Yamaguchi said, with a smile. Kuraki pulled his hand away from her, bewildered. The new homeroom teacher just happily walked back to the podium, and said, "Alright everyone, take your seats! I'm going to take attendance!"

Kuraki was so mad that he kicked the desk that was beside him. It wasn't a good idea, when Kuraki rubs his leg that was in now pain. "Ow, ow, ow! My Achilles..."

On the other side of the classroom, Honjo scoffed. "How lame..." Kamiya laughed along with him.

Kuraki heard it, as did Ichimura who quickly got out of his seat, glaring at Honjo.

"Who said that?!" Kuraki growled, as he looked around the room and Ichimura jumped up from his desk.

"Yo~" Honjo gave him a tiny mocking wave.

"It was you?" Kuraki questioned, as he and Ichimura was inching closer to the other side.

Honjo leaped off from the desk he was sitting at, flipping a chair in the process. "You want to fight?!" Kamiya stood by him, glaring at their enemies.

Kuraki and Honjo began to shove each other, as the classroom cheered them on. "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Even Ichimura and Kamiya were shoving each other. Yamato and Ren just sit at their desks and glared at each from across the room.

Yamaguchi looked irritated, looking at the class filled with delinquents, while at the same time still wondering who the leader of the class is.

But before any of the fights began, the classroom door slammed open. All eyes were turned to the door when Hinako and Izumi entered the classroom, which was in complete silence. The eyes of the 3-D boys got rounder and some of them even dropped their jaws. Gasps and yells were heard all over the classroom as the boys asked the same questions repeatedly to the two girls.

"What are your names?"

"What school are you from?"

"Do you have boyfriends?"

"Can I get your numbers?"

"What made you come to an all-boys school?"

"Will one of you go on a date with me?"

"Do you have some female friends you both can introduce to us?"

Izumi rolled her eyes as she and Hinako were bombarded with questions.

As the boys kept asking their questions, Hinako looked over at the boys who were standing on top of some desks. "You boys do know that you're standing on those desks, or else you'll eventually break your necks." She glared at them. "Or crack your heads open…and die."

Suddenly the questions stopped, and the boys pulled all their desks away from the dark-brown haired girl with shocked (and a little fearful) looks.

"Who are you girls?" Yamaguchi asked with a curious look on her face.

"I'm Sakurai Izumi and this is Takaishi Hinako!" Izumi said as she introduced herself and then pointed to her best friend Hinako, who's standing next to her on the left and just give a nod. "Starting today, we are new students here at Akadou Academy and your new classmates in Class 3-D. So, you better treat the two of us well." Izumi said as she smiled to the entire class. The boys didn't say anything. They just stared back at them.

"CLASSMATES?!"

"Hai." Hinako said simply as she and Izumi give Yamaguchi some papers.

"I see. Well then…welcome! I'm your homeroom teacher and math teacher, Yamaguchi Kumiko. My nickname is Yankumi. It's nice to have you two with us." Yamaguchi greeted them both with a smile, while at the same time looking at the papers that the girls had. "Takaishi-san, Sakurai-san, you two can choose your seats."

The moment after she said that, everyone in class tried to grab two empty desks and put them next to theirs. Ignoring their attempts and calls of two empty seats, Hinako and Izumi walked over to the very back where the six boys were and sat at the two empty desks near them. The 3-D boys resume to its loud and rowdy state. Both Ren and Yamato went back to their threatening looks, while Yamaguchi tries to get the entire class to quiet down and get their attention.

' _This is going to be one long year…_ ' Hinako thought as she looks around the room.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Hi everyone! I posted my first fanfiction story! I was going to post it on Wattpad, but I thought I'd post it here first. I've begun the tedious process of re-editing and reuploading the story, so please be patient with me! The story is based on Gokusen live action drama Season 3 with the original characters, and a few of my own original characters like Hinako, Izumi and there will be more to come later in the story. Gokusen is one of my favorite Japanese dramas ever, so I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. This first half is kinda an intro to the story as well as the characters. I've been getting a ton of ideas from watching other Japanese dramas like: Majisuka Gakuen Season 1 & 2, Yankee-kun to Megane-chan, and Misaki Number One! Including an anime called Kenka Bancho Otome Love's Battle Royale. Anyway, I will try my very best to follow the exact storyline in Gokusen Season 3, but the plot will also focus on new scenes and events of the new characters. I'll have to rewatch Gokusen Season 3 just to be safe.**

 **Thank you so much for reading! Please comment or review to tell me what you think. Also, let me know how you got into Gokusen in the first place!**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **In Japan, each new school year begins in April.**

 **Names are written like surname followed by first name in Japan. For example, Yamaguchi Kumiko, the surname is Yamaguchi and the first name is Kumiko, which I will use this format. Also, the surname are used more to call people, that you aren't close with. Like for example, Yankumi is always calling her students by their surnames. Kazama… Ogata… First names are used by close friends or family.**

 **Japanese high schools are only 3 years, Grade 10-12. Even though Class 3-D are only third years, they're also seniors as well. I know this must be confusing for places where high schools are typically 4 years.**


	4. Episode 1 Part 2

Episode 1 – Part 2: Comrades

When the school bell rang, most of the boys decided to skip. As for Hinako and Izumi, they slowly inched towards the door and walked out. Nobody noticed that they were gone. The girls were walking around the school, while at the same time ignoring all the whistles and catcalls. It was lunchtime, and the girls were trying to find a place to eat their lunches without any boys around. But before they could, they heard a familiar voice.

"Takaishi! Sakurai!"

The girls turned around to see Yamaguchi run towards them. She stopped in front of the girls and smiled at them. Hinako looked at her new teacher, she thought that Yamaguchi looked nice and a little bit dorky, but can she handle delinquent boys?

"Good afternoon. I just wanted to see if you girls were alright." Yamaguchi clarified.

The girls looked at each other and nodded.

"Yes, we're fine, Yamaguchi-sensei." Hinako said.

"Thank you for worrying." Izumi added, politely with a small bow.

Yamaguchi's smile widened.

"Wah~ It's so good to have such cute girls in my class for once!" Yamaguchi exclaimed happily. "Girls are so different from boys. They are sweet, soft and all bouncy."

Hinako and Izumi did not know what the teacher meant with "bouncy", but they agreed with her on one thing: girls were very different from boys.

"It must be overwhelming to be in a school for boys." Yamaguchi started, with understanding in her eyes. "But don't you worry, the boys may look scary and can be hot-tempered; but deep inside they are really good boys. So, you don't need to look so gloomy about it. But if they try anything funny, come to me. Alright?"

Yamaguchi spoke with such honesty. Her eyes told no lies, but truth. She is letting her female students know that she will take care of them.

"Okay. We will, Yamaguchi-sensei." Hinako said. Izumi nodded her head in agreement.

"Call me Yankumi. All my students do." Yankumi smiled. "I'll see you in class, girls." She gave them a smile and left to go into the office. The girls looked at her as she walked away.

"She seems nice." Izumi said.

"Yeah…" Hinako started to speak. "She's different. She's not afraid of those boys and she thinks that they're good people."

"So, maybe they were good people?" Izumi suggested.

"Good people with anger issues." Hinako replied.

After that, the girls eventually found themselves a place on the rooftop of the school. After Izumi finished her lunch, she took herself a little nap on one of the benches while Hinako stood to looked up to bright blue sky as she felt the sunlight stroke her skin and warming her body up on the side. She suddenly felt a loud grumbling sound from her stomach.

Hinako cursed herself for forgetting her bento that she accidentally left at home. She sighed while putting her face into her hands. Hinako knew from the start that she would never get used to this school or come to liking it at all, she was even thinking about dropping out of school herself, but she didn't want to and that wouldn't help her situation either. Hinako needed to be strong, so she can survive her last year of high school. After all, she promised someone that she will graduate.

"I must graduate…I must graduate…" Hinako mumbled to herself as she raised up and stepped to the edge of the school, so she could see some of the 3-D boys running around the school grounds happily as they steal lunches from their lowerclassmen. Just fighting and enjoying themselves. Hinako sighed again as she looks at the two bracelets on her left wrist, the first one is pink while the other one is blue. "Don't worry, Hiroki. I won't break our promise." Hinako said to herself as she kept looking at the bracelets. "I'm determined to endure this until the very end." With that said, Hinako's hands clenched into fists against the sides of her skirt, which served to steel both her nerves within her.

Meanwhile in the teacher's office, Yamaguchi found the two files of the two leaders of Class 3-D.

"Ogata Yamato and Kazama Ren, huh?" Yankumi muttered to herself after she reads the two files of the two boys set up on her desk.

"Yamaguchi-sensei." Yajima-Sensei approached Yankumi's desk.

"Yes?"

"Did those guys in 3-D do something?" He asked.

"No, not really."

"Even those guys wouldn't be so quick to hurt a female teacher. Don't you think so?" Hatoyama-sensei said as he entered the conversation.

"You can't let your guard down though." Sakura-san said.

"Right. Especially watch out for Ogata Yamato and Kazama Ren." Yajima-sensei said.

"Watch out for?" Yankumi was puzzled.

"Those two were the "boss" of their respective classes before." Yajima-sensei stated. "With them in the same class, it's no wonder that there's always trouble."

"They'll probably fight to determine who's the strongest." Tsuruoka-sensei added.

"So it's basically like a fight between two heirs to the same family." Yankumi said as she received curious looks from her co-workers that went unnoticed by her.

"A fight between two heirs?" The teachers said.

"Yamaguchi-sensei!" Head Teacher spoke with a shrill sound of horror. Judging by Yankumi's expression she was just now realizing her slip up.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, please don't worry." Baba-sensei said as he cuts in. "Whatever trouble there may be, I will protect you."

"So this sort of woman is your type, Baba-sensei?" Sakura-san asked.

"This sort?" Yankumi said.

"Yes! This sort." Baba-sensei said.

"This sort is Baba-sensei's type." Aoi-sensei said as she writes down in her notepad with her pencil.

"What are you writing?" Yankumi said.

"It's because I'm a newcomer." Aoi-sensei replied.

"I can be your assistant homeroom teacher, if you like." Baba-sensei suggested.

"No, it's my _turf_ , so I'll protect it myself…" Yankumi replied.

"Turf?" The other teachers muttered under their breaths.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, um…you sure like yakuza movies, don't you?" Head Teacher Sawatari said as he pushed his way through to stand at Yankumi's side.

"I sure do." Yankumi immediately said as she nodded wildly in agreement and Takako-sensei turned to her notepad with her pencil.

"Yamaguchi-sensei likes yakuza movies…" She muttered as she scribbled on the paper.

"You don't have to write that down!" Yankumi muttered.

Back on the rooftop, Izumi woke up from her little nap and noticed that Hinako was in deep thought and looked a little sad. So, she got off the bench and walk up to her.

"Hinako."

Hinako was snap out of her thoughts and turned to see her best friend Izumi.

"Are you okay?" Izumi asked, looking worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking deep thoughts." Hinako said, irritated. "We should go inside now. Lunchtime is almost over."

Izumi looked a little unsure, but once Hinako reassured her that she was fine, Izumi just nodded and followed her best friend to the classroom. However, when the girls got back to their classroom, the hallways of 3-D were quiet. Too quiet. Izumi opened the door to reveal the classroom was completely empty.

"The boys are gone!" Izumi said with a shocking look on her face.

"So, what do we do now?" Hinako asked.

"Well, we could skip." Izumi suggested as she crossed her arms.

"But won't we get into trouble if we do that?" Hinako said. It was only her first day at Akadou, and she didn't want to get in any trouble on her first day.

The familiar voice of Yamaguchi echoed through the halls, the girls saw the red jersey wearing teacher who looked a bit miffed as she was talking to herself.

"Oi, Yamaguchi…" Hinako speaks up.

Yankumi stopped mumbling to herself and looked at her two female students. She seemed to be

really surprised to see the two of them standing in the hallway. "What are you two doing standing in the hallway?" She asked them.

Izumi simply pointed at the door, Yankumi's eyes showed confusion until she opened the door and found her classroom was completely empty. She could literally feel the cold atmosphere of the room, as she treaded back and simply closed the door. Yankumi looked at the two girls and just sighed.

"Um…Yamaguc…I mean Yankumi!" Izumi starts to speak up. "Hinako and I would like for you to teach us. I mean, I'm really terrible at math."

"Besides, I don't want to go home just yet." Hinako added.

Yankumi looked at her two students with her mouth open in astonishment, then she grinned a them. "You just called me Yankumi!" She began to ruffle Izumi's hair, which she received complaints and Hinako tried not to laugh. Then she laughed. "Alright then, let's go inside!" Yankumi opened the door and walked right inside the classroom.

The girls took the seats in the front, but Hinako's mouth turned into a frown when she found chip crumbs all over the desk. So, she scooped them all up into her hand and then she threw them away into the trash can before returning to the seat and taking out a mechanical pencil from her bag. After that, Yankumi began to talk about algebra and write down the study of algebraic structures on the board. Izumi, who was sitting beside her on the left, she whispered to her. "Between you and me, I think you're the best at math."

Hinako didn't say anything, she just smiled as she wrote down the structures.

Right after school, Hinako went to buy some groceries for dinner. She went through the aisles along with her basket and picked items off of the shelves. She looked through a notepad that she carries to help count the total amount of food that she's buying. "198 yen… 248 yen…" Hinako mumbled to herself as she scribed the total amount in her notepad.

Moments later, Hinako walked out of the store with the clerk telling her to have a nice night and she walked down the street, carrying both bags in her hand and her wallet in the other. She could hear the buzzing of the street lights as well as mumbling conversations of people who were walking by her. When Hinako turned the corner, she saw a very familiar boy with brown hair wearing an Akadou Academy uniform walking closer towards her. Ogata Yamato had his head down and a hand in his pocket as the other hand held his school bag. He raised his head and looked a little bit surprised by seeing his female classmate.

"You…"

"Yes, me. Takaishi Hinako and you're Ogata Yamato." Hinako said.

The two were about a few feet from each other, they were standing under a little street light.

"What're you doing out here at this hour?" Yamato said, curiously. Out of the two girls in class, Hinako was quiet, mysterious, and a little bit scary (not that Yamato would admit it and not interested in any girls). Although, Hinako was not that scary when she's not glaring at people.

"Getting groceries. See?" Hinako responded as she lifts up the bag she was holding in her left hand for indication. "What about you…Yamato?"

"Just walking around." Yamato answered, honestly to her. "Are you wearing glasses?"

"I only wear outside school and at home." She replied.

"I see."

Yamato and Hinako were quiet, as they created an awkward atmosphere.

"Well, I better get home. Ja ne." Hinako began to walk by him towards her apartment, until Yamato held her back by grabbing her hand.

"I'll walk you home." Yamato suggested as he noticed her raised eyebrow. "It could be dangerous for you to walk home alone, especially at night."

Hinako looked at him, and then she scoffed. "I've walked home alone a lot of times at night and no one has ever bothered me or attacked me. Thanks, but no thanks."

"Look, I already saw you and if something happens to you I just…don't want to be in trouble if you get hurt." Yamato said as he looked down not to meet her eyes.

Hinako blinked and a little surprised. Yamato wanted to walk her home, usually he doesn't notice girls that much anyway, which caused his friend Kamiya to question his quality at times.

"Hmm…fine, and don't worry I won't tell anybody about this. This will be our little secret."

"Good to know."

The two started to walk down the street in silence. As they continue to walk, the two of them secretly looked at each other, and Yamato finally noticed how delicate and cute Hinako looked. After walking a few blocks that lead to the park, Hinako stops in the middle of the sidewalk.

"What's wrong?" Yamato asked.

"Nothing, I can go on my own from here." Hinako responded. "My apartment is down this road."

Yamato didn't say anything, he just nodded and frowned. As he turned to leave her, Hinako grabbed his arm. "Yamato, before you leave, I just wanted to say thank you for walking me halfway home. I really appreciate it." Hinako gives him a sweet smile.

Yamato's eyes widened because that was the very first time that he ever saw Hinako smiling. Without knowing, Yamato gave her a warm smile in return, which made her smile even bigger, which made Yamato's blood rushing to his cheeks. "N-No problem." Yamato stuttered as he tries to hide his blush from Hinako.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow at school. Ja ne." Hinako said as she walked away.

"Yeah, ja ne." Yamato replied as he wondered what just happened.

~The Next Day~

Izumi was sitting in 3-D waiting for her best friend Hinako when Ren and his crew walked in.

Yamato and his friends immediately sent dirty looks, as Ren and his gang walked up towards them. The whole mood in that area changed from calm and normal to hard and icy.

"What?" Yamato said, not liking the fact that Skunk-head was standing so close to him.

Ren looked down at Yamato, his eyes filled with hardness. "Let's sort out once and for all who leads Akadou." He stated.

Yamato scoffed with a small smirk as he stood up from his chair. "You want a one on one with me?" He said.

"Yeah." Ren confirmed as he smirked.

"Sounds good to me." Yamato glared at his enemy. "Let's do it."

"After school, come to Shirokin park."

Yamato and Ren glared at each other, as Ichi and Honjo started glaring at each other followed by Kura and Kamiya. Izumi rolled her eyes at them.

"Here we go again…" Izumi said to herself.

Suddenly, Yankumi walks in looking very chipper with a slight blush on her face. "Good morning! Everyone, take your seats!"

As none of the boys were listening to her or even a where of her presence, Yankumi walked closer towards the six glaring boys. "Hey, what's going on? Take your seats." The six boys still ignored her. "Can't you hear me? Take your seats!"

Seconds later, the opens to reveal Head Teacher Sawatari along with his follower Yajima-sensei. Their expressions were rather angry, especially Sawatari's who just glared at the room filled with delinquents.

"Head Teacher?" Yankumi questioned, confusion evident on her face.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at the head teacher. Sawatari had his eyes only on Kazama.

"Kazama, come with us for a second." Sawatari ordered.

"What?" Ren asked as turned around to glared at Sawatari.

"Don't argue. Just come." The Head Teacher said.

"What's going on?" Yankumi asked as she stepped forward.

"The police want to talk to Kazama about the serial muggings." Yajima-sensei explained.

"Serial muggings?!" Izumi said, rising from her seat. She looked at Ren, who looked back at her before looking at the group of teachers and his classmates. Everyone had their eyes on Ren.

Ren rolled his eyes before following them out of the classroom with Yamaguchi.

Hinako, who overslept at her apartment arrived shortly after Ren and Yamaguchi went to the office.

' _I can't believe I overslept…_ ' Hinako thought to herself.

As she walked through the hallways to 3-D, she saw Izumi running towards her from Class 3-D.

"What's wrong, Izumi?" Hinako asked, with a worried look.

"It's Ren! They said that he's a suspect in the serial mugging in Shirokin Tunnel, and since Ren couldn't prove where he was last night at the time of the mugging, Chairman Akagi had no choice but to suspended him." Izumi stated.

"Did the police arrest him?" Hinako asked.

"No, I don't think so."

"Come on!"

Hinako and Izumi run to the messy hallway leading to 3-D. The girls quickened their pace as the label '3D' caught their eyes. Suddenly Ren darted out of the room angrily almost running into Izumi and Hinako.

"Ren…" Izumi mused as he stared back at her briefly before brushing past by her and running down the hall ignoring her calls for him to come back. She watched him until he was gone and then she sighed.

Every time when someone accuse them of something, they would get all upset and run off like that but still…the girls couldn't blame Ren for being upset. But there was nothing that the two of them could do now, so they headed into the classroom. The girls sighed as they turned around and continued down the hall where Class 3D was a rowdy as ever from the sounds of it, the girls approached the open door.

"How can you still be smiling?" Yankumi's outburst voice cut through the noise in the room and made Izumi and Hinako stop just outside the classroom. The girls pressed both their backs against the wall beside the door, listening. "A comrade who didn't do anything wrong was just suspended!"

"Comrade?" Yamato smirked. "We just happen to be in the same class. That's all." The rest of the boys in class seem to agree with him, which made Yankumi even more upset. They were even snickering at the fact that their teacher thought that they were actually friends. Izumi clenched both of her hands into a tight fist at Yamato's words. She took a step, wanting to go in the classroom and say something, but Hinako grabbed her arm and shook her head. Izumi looked at her for just a second, then she nodded and stepped back to the wall.

"Even so, don't you feel anything? Don't you think anything of it?" Yankumi asked as she looks at them.

Yankumi's voice floated into Hinako and Izumi's ears.

"Not really." Kamiya said, with a scoff.

"It happens a lot." Honjo said, with a hint of a happy tone in his voice. He probably saw this as a chance to shove this into Ichimura and Kuraki's faces.

The boys laugh and nodded their heads.

Yankumi pointed at the door, indicating Ren just exited from. "That guy was falsely accused and then tossed out! Don't you think that's wrong?!"

"Man, she's fired up!" One of the boys said, making the entire class laugh. Except for Ichimura and Kuraki who still remained quiet. The girls didn't laugh either. In fact, they shook their heads.

"Why not rebel at a time like this?!" Yankumi yelled out.

Suddenly Kuraki exploded his anger at Yankumi. "Quit the sermon already!"

Ichimura got up from his chair and slammed his hands on his desk. "Whatever we say won't change anything."

"It's not like you damn teachers ever listen to what we say anyway." Kuraki stated with a scowl, pointing a shaky finger at Yankumi. His dark eyes were filled with hopelessness.

Yankumi quickly stood in front of Kuraki. "Is that why you're telling me to drop it?"

"Yamaguchi…" Hinako mumbled.

"Oh, by the way…" Yamato starts to speak, by standing up from his seat. "He was near the Shirokin tunnel at the time of the incident."

"Huh?" Yankumi looked surprised at Yamato. Everyone in the classroom all turned their attention on Yamato. Even the girls did, by peeking from the door. "I saw him with my own eyes."

Izumi had just heard enough, and then she pulled off from the wall and burst through the doorway of the messy classroom with Hinako following her. "That can't be true!" She shouted as all the boys looked at her in shock.

"Are you calling me a liar, shorty?" Yamato said as he glared at Izumi.

With that said, Izumi didn't say anything else. She just avoided his eyes.

"Really?" Yankumi questioned.

"Yeah."

As Yankumi narrowed in eyes in thought, Yamato simply grabbed his school bag and began to walk out of the classroom. His friends followed him as Honjo gave Kuraki a condescending pat on the shoulder, in which the black-haired boy shoved off. The rest of the boys in class got up from their seats and walked out the room, leaving the girls alone with their teacher.

Then, Hinako grabbed her school bag and left the classroom, along with her best friend Izumi, leaving Yankumi alone to her own thoughts…

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Woot! Woot! The second half of Episode 1 is here.**

 **I'm putting this up way earlier than I thought I would ^.^ You might say I'm kind of on a roll right now. Anyway, everyone keep supporting me and this story!**

 **In the third and final part will be a Yamato and Hinako moment! (Opps Spoiler Alert!)**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **The roof: Japanese high schools usually have a flat roof and they're basically just large open spaces. Some schools allow students up there and others don't.**


	5. Episode 1 Part 3

Episode 1 – Part 3: Catching a Thief

Hinako and Izumi thought that Akadou Academy isn't any different from their old school. No one trusted or wanted to help anyone else. Or so they thought… Because the next day got really weird, when she walked in to see everyone standing in the front of the classroom. All the desks and chairs were pushed to the back and Yankumi was passing out some flyers to her students.

She makes her way to Izumi, who was holding a flyer in her hands as well.

"What's going on here?" She whispered to Izumi.

Izumi didn't say anything, she just gives her a flyer that read: 'Looking for a Witness,' along with a drawn picture of a man in a hoodie and beside that was two other pictures of a skull necklace and a tribal tattoo.

"What's this?" Hinako asked as she took the flyer from Izumi's hand.

"Yankumi made these flyers." Izumi answered.

"I'd like everyone to help prove Kazama's innocence." Yankumi said.

Ichimura and Kuraki looked down at the flyers, then looked at each other and finally, at the teacher. They looked at her with a mix of emotions like: curiosity, skepticism, and a tiny bit of hope.

"This...isn't he lying?" Honjo scoffed.

"He isn't lying." Yankumi exclaimed.

"Why do you believe that?" Kamiya asked as he raised his voice.

"I can tell from looking at his eyes." She said, plainly.

Kamiya walked towards Yankumi to the point of getting into her face. "I smell an idiot."

The rest of the boys in the class, except for Ichimura, Kuraki, and surprisingly Yamato weren't laughing at Yankumi. The girls weren't laughing either.

Yankumi looked unbothered by Kamiya's insult. "Lend me your hand, please." She deeply bowed to her students.

However, Honjo howled throwing the flyer in the air, followed by Kamiya and the rest of the boys in class laughing as they are walking by their teacher without a care. The only ones who didn't throw their flyers was Ichimura, Kuraki, Yamato, Hinako and Izumi. Both the girls were stunned because she is a teacher who is willingly bowed for Ren. She doesn't even know him, and yet she bowed and pleaded for his sake. Yamaguchi slowly raised her head and began to pick up the papers off the ground. Hinako and Izumi both swallowed their pride as teacher haters as they leaned down to help Yankumi pick up the papers.

"Thank you, girls." Yankumi said as she smiled.

"It's fine, Yankumi." Izumi said as she and Hinako handed Yankumi the flyers.

"So, are you going to culprit today?" Hinako asked.

"Well, yes. I need to find the culprit as soon as possible."

"I'll help, I don't think my parents won't mind." Izumi said, receiving a smile from Yankumi.

"I could work on my social skills on people." Hinako added, earning a very thankful nod from Yankumi.

"Yosh!" Yankumi handed the girls half of the papers. "You two can take the area around the Shirokin Tunnel and I'll take downtown. That okay with you?"

"Hai!" Hinako and Izumi nodded.

So, for the next few days, Yankumi and the girls, were running around Tokyo passing out flyers and asked people to help find the real culprit. They would start as soon as school ended and until midnight and on weekends as well. When they were out on the streets of Tokyo passing out flyers, some people took them, and others only avoided them. Then there would be the ones who would take a flyer and then throw it in the trash. Izumi almost tore people's arms for staring at Hinako's breasts when taking a flyer from her. The only one who was having better luck was none other than Izumi, but she only scared the people into taking a flyer.

There was even a day when it was raining, and Yamaguchi did not want her female students to be out in the rain, in fear of them catching a cold. Her students shouldn't be getting sick on her account. Hinako gave Yamaguchi an umbrella to protect herself from the rain as she walked home from school one day, and she could have sworn to see Yamato watching Yamaguchi intently. Yamaguchi didn't even use the umbrella and she just gave it back to Hinako the very next day with a nice and simple thank you. It was obvious that Hinako was a little miffed about that fact.

One day right after school, Yamaguchi and the girls decided to work one area together on the streets of Tokyo, and she started asking the girls some questions.

"How are you two girls adjusting to Akadou so far?" Yamaguchi asked, curiously.

"Hmm, it's different from Kuro Saigai, I'll tell you that." Hinako replied.

"How so?" Yamaguchi questioned, trying to give woman a flyer but the woman ignored her.

"Well, besides Akadou being an all-boys school, Kuro Saigai is an all-girls school and it's filled with a lot of female delinquents that are usually rowdy like the boys in Class 3-D. You might say we are as rowdy as our old classmates at Kuro Saigai." Hinako stated as she handed a flyer to an older man who seemed to be more interested in her legs.

"Keep walking you little pervert!" Izumi glared at him. At the tone of their voices, the older man flinched and jogged away.

"Well, I see why." Yamaguchi replied, with a smile as she asked another question. "So, how did you two girls end up at an all-boys school?"

"We're taking part in a Co-ed program that was created Akadou's Chairman, Akagi Ryoko, to see if girls can handle being Akadou for a whole year, so hopefully she'll create a co-ed school in the future. So, Izumi and I decided to take part of it for our last year of high school and for something new and different." Hinako stated.

"I see." Yamaguchi replied.

Yamaguchi was about to say something else until her phone started to ring. "Yes, head teacher...? Huh?" She hung up her phone and took off.

"Yankumi!" Izumi yelled out, as she runs after her, and Hinako followed her.

Soon the three ladies stopped in front of a police station. Then a taxi pulled up when they turned around and saw Sawatari waiting on Ren who was coming out of the taxi.

"Kazama!" Yankumi yelled, as the two girls looked stunned.

Ren appeared to be calm and the head teacher looked pissed. Sawatari put his hand on Ren's back, making him to forcefully walk towards the station. Yankumi ran up to them, but the two males did not stop walking. Izumi and Hinako followed them.

"It appears I was too naïve, huh?" Sawatari said. "For thinking that you'd be able to control 3-D. These guys are trash after all." Ren glared at him. "It's useless to teach things to trash and you're dragging the new female students into your mess." He took a brief look at the two young girls as he continued to walk.

Yankumi stopped in front of him. "Head teacher!"

"Yamaguchi-sensei, you knew, didn't you?" Sawatari scolded. "That this guy was near the scene of the crime." His only answer was silence. "Apparently, the police heard it from Ogata Yamato."

"What?!" Hinako screeched as Izumi's eyes widened in shock.

Hinako couldn't believe it. Yamato told the police, crush the chances of proving Ren's innocence.

"But, Kazama isn't the perpetrator!" Yankumi shouted.

"Whether he is the culprit or not, the police will investigate from here on out!" Sawatari yelled, with a slight growl.

Everyone looked up at the police station, where six officers came out in formation. Omiya and Yamazaki were in the middle of the formation, smirking. They probably thought that they looked cool but were obviously trying way too hard.

Yamaguchi ran up the stairs and shouted out, "Detective, that guy only lied because if he'd told the truth, you'd have thought he did it!"

As the police were coming down the stairs, ignoring Yankumi, Ren yelled out. "It's okay already!"

"What's okay?" Yamaguchi asked as she turned to look at her student.

"I'm used to this sort of thing." Ren scoffed.

"That doesn't mean you have to like it." Izumi said.

"That's right! You don't need to be used to it!" Yamaguchi shouted out. The officers walked by the female teacher, ignoring all her cries. "Detective! Lying was the only way for him to protect himself!" Officer Yamazaki simply grabbed Ren's arm, dragging him. "Isn't it us adults that made him that way?! Please!" The officers kept ignored her. "Don't drive Kazama into a corner anymore! Detective!"

As Yamaguchi yelled at the officers, Sawatari grabbed her, making her stay put. "Yamaguchi-sensei!" He just glared at her for a second and walked away, following the police officers.

Yamaguchi yelled out to Ren, telling him that she will save him no matter what. Hinako's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Yamato…"

Yankumi and Izumi turned to see Yamato standing near the police station. Izumi wanted to slap the fuck out of him so badly, but before she could say anything Yamato dropped his gaze and walked away. The girls walked after him. Sensing that the girls were behind him, Yamato speeds up and walks a little faster.

Suddenly Izumi snapped.

"You bastard! How could you?! Now, thanks to you, they think Ren is guilty!" Izumi shouted.

Yamato stopped walking, but he didn't turn to look at the two girls behind him. But before Izumi could say anything else, Hinako cuts in and starts to speak.

"So, you're not any different, huh?"Hinako asked him with an ironic smile on her face.

Yamato finally turned only to see Hinako eye-to-eye. "Huh?" He replied with a confused look.

"Well, yesterday you two agree to a duel to see who will lead Akadou and now today you're giving him up just like that." Hinako caught herself saying that. "You know, I thought you were a nice guy who walks girls home in the nighttime. But I guess I was wrong about you."

"Hinako…" Izumi mumbled.

'She's speaking her mind with no fear. Either was she too brave or too stupid?' Yamato thought to himself.

"Now if you excuse me and Izumi, we're going to find the culprit. Come on, Izumi." Hinako said, as she turned and walked by with Izumi following her. Suddenly both the girls heard footsteps behind them. They turned to see Yamato running towards them. He ran past them.

"Hey, wait!" Izumi yelled out.

"What's the matter?" Yamato said as he slowed down a little. "I thought you two wanted to find the real culprit."

Hinako smiled when she heard that, as Izumi lessened her dirty look she gave to Yamato and started to run with him. The three of them began their search downtown. There were weird looking dudes who looked at them like they were crazy, while the three looked for a skull necklace and tattoo.

Soon the three teens entered a nightclub filled with dancing and sweating bodies. Yamato was ahead of Hinako and Izumi, walking amongst the crowd, bumping into people. Izumi instinctively pulled Hinako very close to her, to make sure that she doesn't get lost or taken away by any creeps. Yamato bumped to a much taller guy with short black hair. The guy grabbed Yamato's jacket collar and pulled him to his face.

"Look where you're going, you bastard!" The guy growled.

Yamato grabbed his jacket collar, glaring at him. "What?" Then Yamato looked down at the guy's chest and noticed a familiar looking golden skull necklace. Yamato bit the inside of his cheek and swallowed his pride. "I'm sorry."

The guy sneered and shoved Yamato out of his face. He walked to the bar and ordered something to drink. Yamato took out Yamaguchi's flyer from his pocket and his hunch was correct. The bastard was wearing the same golden skull necklace.

"Yamato." Hinako piped up when she and Izumi caught up to him. She looked at what he was looking at, which was a guy sitting at the bar. "Is that the guy?"

"Yeah, that's him." Yamato answered, as he keeps his eyes on the guy. "I'll be back." He left the girls and went to bar, standing beside him. He ordered a tonic water and noticed that the guy had a similar looking blue tattoo on his wrist. This guy was the real true culprit.

When the guy left the bar, Yamato followed him. The girls noticed that Yamato was following the same guy and quickly went after him.

"You girls should get out of here…" Yamato whispered to Hinako and Izumi.

"We can handle ourselves." Izumi glared at him. "We don't have to listen to you."

"Fine." Yamato said as he rolled his eyes. "Do whatever you want."

The three followed the guy, who turned a corner and went into an alley. When they reached the alley, he was gone, and it was empty. Yamato ran into the alley, almost flinching when he heard a voice.

"So, it's you? You're the one following me around?"

The guy stepped closer to Yamato, who heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see two other guys come out of nowhere. Sensing the danger, Hinako whispered to Izumi. "Izumi, I need you to go find Yamaguchi. Go, now!" She pushed Izumi out of the alley just in time before two guys surrounded her from behind. She looked at them with one word coming out of her mouth. "Shit…"

"You're the guy behind the serial muggings, aren't you?" Yamato asked, who appeared to be calm.

The guy stepped closer to Yamato with a stoic expression. "So, what if I am?"

Meanwhile, Yamaguchi was running around, still trying to find the culprit until she saw a familiar figure running towards her. It was Izumi.

"Sakurai." Yankumi said.

Izumi was hunched over, her hands on her knees, breathing hard. "Yamato and Hinako...they were ambushed by the culprit and his friends!"

"Really?! Where are they now?" She asked.

"I don't know." Izumi shook her head. "Hinako pushed me out of the alley before I could see where those guys were taking them."

Yamaguchu was silent in thought, then she noticed two guys at the bottom of the staircase. She rushed over to them with her flyer in hand and asked them. "Excuse me, do you know this man?"

The guy with the blond hair and funky green shirt took the paper and looked at it. "Ah, are you looking for Hiro, too?"

"Eh?" Yankumi and Izumi said.

"Some kid from Akadou and a cute-looking but tough-looking girl were looking for him as well. What's your relation to those kids?" The guy with short black hair, wearing a red shirt asked.

"Akadou?" Yamaguchi said.

"That's Yamato and Hinako!" Izumi gasped.

Yankumi's eyes widened. "No way." She looked up at the guys. "Where did you see those kids?"

"He's probably being beaten up by Hiro right now or he might be having a lot of fun with that girl." The blond guy said, with a tsked look.

Izumi froze when she heard that sentence. The two guys walked by her and Yamaguchi giving them their warnings. Yankumi's face became serious. "Where are they?"

"Who knows?" The two guys mocked.

Izumi ran up to them, standing in their way. She was pissed. "You two know where they are right now, don't you?! Tell us now!"

"Huh? We said we don't know." The blonde guy said, getting angry. "Now, get out of the-hwah!"

Suddenly, the two guys were lifted up by the back of their collars and their bodies collided with some metal garage doors. Izumi's eyes widened, and they almost popped out her head when she saw who was lifting up the guys.

"Where are they?!" Yamaguchi demanded, looking absolutely scary.

"Wow…scary…" Izumi said as she looks speechless.

Inside of a barely lit warehouse, Hinako was on her knees, being pinned down by two guys, trying to free herself. Yamato was being thrown around like pinball and getting punched in the face. He tried to fight off the men, but everything was happening too fast. Punches were being thrown left and right; he was also kneed in the gut. At one point, he was pushed to the ground and the culprit is named Hiro kneeled beside Yamato and grabbed his hair, lifting up his blooded face.

"Have you learned your lesson, yet?" Hiro asked.

"Because of you, someone has been falsely accused!" Yamato shouted.

"So, what?" Hiro replied.

"I'm going to...take you to the cops." Yamato said as he grabbed Hiro by his jacket collar, pulling himself up with a groan from the pain.

Hiro simply shoved Yamato out of his face. As Yamato's body rolled, Hiro screamed at him. "Don't fuck with me!" He began to kick Yamato in the stomach. Yamato rolled over onto his stomach, coughing and heaving in pain from the kicks and punches. Hiro's crew laughed and mocked Yamato; when Hiro was about to kick Yamato again, until Hinako screamed from the top of her lungs. "STOP IT!" She struggled against the men who were holding her down.

The men looked at her and laughed along with Hiro. Hiro smirked when he saw Hinako struggle against his friends. "Looks like your girlfriend here still wants to fight!" He stepped closer to Yamato. "Once I'm done with you, you can watch me beat the crap out of her!"

"Stay away from her!" Yamato shouts out as he coughed. "Your fight is only with me, you heart-less bastard!" He heaved from Hiro's sudden kick.

"Are you serious?" Hiro asked as he kicked him again.

When Hiro said the word "serious", something triggered inside of Hinako.

"I'm serious!" Hinako shouts as she got out of the guy's hold by flipping him over her shoulder and knocked him out completely.

Hiro and his gang were surprised when Hinako unexpectedly flip that guy and the way she shouted out like that. Even Yamato was surprised. Turning to face them, Hinako looked at them straight in the eyes, which made Hiro and his gang, scared.

"In this world, there is nothing but seriousness!" She shouted out.

After saying that, Hinako charges toward Hiro's gang and fights.

"Seriousness?" Yamato said, confused.

As she takes out all of Hiro's gang, she saw blood on the ground, which made her stop fighting and starts shivering in fear. Thanks to the distraction, Hiro got up to his feet and pushed Hinako to the ground using all his strength.

"You bitch!" Hiro shouted as he punches in her face and grabbed Hinako's shirt.

"Leave her alone!" Yamato shouted.

"I'm gonna-!" Hiro paused when he heard a loud banging noise.

Hiro left the two teens on the floor and watched the metal door move along with the banging noise. When they weren't looking, Hinako who quickly stops shivering crawls over to Yamato who was barely conscious. The loud banging noise made Hiro's crew step back in fear. It was probably a whole gang or something.

The door burst opened, Hinako quickly covered Yamato to protect him from the large containers and other items that fall on the ground. Hiro's men looked really scared. They watched the warehouse's opening to see a figure coming out of the smoke.

Yamato and Hinako looked over with their widened eyes, wondering who it could be. It was the figure of a small woman coming forth. Yamaguchi was standing at the entrance with a serious, fierce expression.

The men looked at each other in disbelief, they relaxed a little when looking at the small woman.

"Yamaguchi…" Hinako mumbled.

Yankumi looked over at her two students, "Ogata, Takaishi, you..." She noticed that Yamato slowly passed out from exhaustion. She slowly walked to Hiro and his men. With each step, Hinako could feel the threatening strong aura coming her teacher. "So many adults ganging up to beat up on two high school students, and one of them turns out to be a girl." Yamaguchi said as he pulled out her pigtails. "You sure are pathetic."

"Who the hell are you?" Hiro asked.

"Me?" Yamaguchi said, with a little mockingly tone, as she took off her glasses and threw them somewhere. "I'm those kids' homeroom teacher."

After she answered, Hinako looked down at Yamato who was now unconscious and then back up away from Yamaguchi and Hiro's gang.

"Homeroom teacher?" Hiro scoffed, as he and his crew howled in laughter.

Yankumi whipped her hair, glaring at Hiro and his crew. "I'd like for you to give back my precious students."

"Don't give me that 'precious student' shit. Don't make me laugh." Hiro said.

"School is meaningless." One of his gangmates added. "They don't have much of a future after high school, anyway. I mean, this guy is no different from rejects like us. And that girl right there is no different from those crazy high school bitches."

"Don't think of him as one of you!" Yamaguchi yelled out. "In order to take responsibility for his actions, he came here. And that girl is very loyal to her friends!" She looked at Hinako and the unconscious Yamato. "Even though he was beaten this badly, he tried to save a comrade! And she tried to protect a friend! That's pretty respectable!"

"Don't look down on us!" A big guy screamed, dashing towards her with a lifted fist.

Yamaguchi dodged the punch, kicked another oncoming guy in the stomach. She grabbed the big guys' arm when he tried to grab her from behind and squeezed it. As the guys hissed in pain, trying to get out of her hold, Yankumi calmly said, "Whether you're dog-ass or half-assed, you can always start over!" Then she shoved the guy away from her.

Another dude, who called her a bitch, tried to kick her in the face, but she stepped aside and landed a few strong punches on him. He fell to the ground, Yamaguchi stepped closer to Hiro and his crew. "Let me tell you, if it's to protect my precious students...I won't hold back."

Hiro, who still wasn't afraid of the strong woman standing in front of him, only said. "Shut up already!"

In a flash, Hiro's men ganged up on Yankumi, but she wasn't afraid. She gave them all punches and kicks, when there were guys who grabbed her, she would shove them away from her. Soon all of Hiro's men were on the ground, either bleeding or groaning in pain. Hiro was the only one standing; he tried to look confident, but he backed away from Yamaguchi who stepped closer towards him. Hinako was amazed about how strong her new homeroom teacher was.

Hinako almost gasped when she saw Hiro pick up a pipe and swing it at Yamaguchi. She dodged the pipe swings and disappeared from his line of vision.

' _Where did she go…?_ ' Hinako thought to herself.

"I'm over here."

Hiro flinched and turned around to see Yamaguchi standing behind him. He swung his pipe, she simply grabbed it with one hand. She lowered the pipe, Hiro tried to raise it back up, but Yamaguchi took it out of his hands and punched him in the gut. The punch literally knocked the wind out of Hiro, he was lifted up a couple of feet from the ground. He landed on the ground with a grunt, passing out instantly.

Yamaguchi looked over at Yamato and Hinako, who got a punch in the face. She walked up towards her, crouched down, and smiled gently at her. "Are you alright?"

Hinako moved her cheek and hissed a little, while touching it. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I don't know about Yamato here." She glanced down at Yamato, who was still on her lap, passed out, then she looks back at Yamaguchi. "How on earth are you _that_ strong?"

"I wanted to protect what's something important to me." Yankumi kept her smile, as she stood up slinging one of Yamato's arms over her shoulder. Hinako got up from the ground with a grunt. She dusted off her skirt and then sling Yamato's other arm over her shoulder.

As they walked out of the warehouse, Hinako looked around. "Where's Izumi...?"

"Hinako! Are you alright?!" Izumi cried out, who came running in. She saw Yamato's unconscious body. "What happen to him?"

"He was knocked unconscious." Hinako answered. "And passed out from exhaustion."

"He'll be alright. Now let's get out of here before the police get up." Yankumi said as she and Hinako both carried the unconscious Yamato out of the warehouse.

Yamato slowly opened his eyes. All he saw was nothing but blurriness and felt a sharp pain throughout his body. Soon his vision became clearer and he looked around to see a giant cherry blossom tree above him, the petals blowing in the wind. Yamato looked over to the side and saw Yankumi, Izumi, and Hinako sitting beside him.

"Look, he's awake!" Yamato heard Hinako's voice right beside him.

He sat up with a grunt and hiss. What happened? All he remembered was him and Hinako were inside the warehouse with Hiro and his crew. Hinako nearly beat up Hiro and his crew until she stops, and he thought he saw a silhouette of Yamaguchi standing in the warehouse's doorway.

"Are you alright?" Hinako asked, kneeling over him, with a calm expression on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Yamato said, as he waved off her worried tone and then turned to look at Yamaguchi. "What happened to those guys?"

"Those guys?" Yankumi asked, as she raised an eyebrow in an innocent tone.

"The culprit." He said, impatiently.

"When I got there, they had already been apprehended." Yankumi answered (and lied).

"Huh? But..." Yamato paused, thinking of the person he saw. He could have sworn that it was Yamaguchi. It also irritated him not knowing what just happened, but he did feel something odd about Yankumi. He just didn't know what it was.

Yamaguchi just smiled at him and Hinako, "You two...going overboard." Then she looked at her three students. "Thank you though, you guys. For finding the culprit."

"It had nothing to do with you." Yamato scoffed, looked away from her.

"Well, it was nothing really." Hinako said as she shrugged. "I'm just couldn't stand aside and let an innocent person get in trouble." She stretches her legs and hiding her blush.

"I'm just glad I was able to help." Izumi just smiled then smirked. "But I can't wait to see the look on those officers' faces when they found out that they were _actually_ wrong, for once."

"Especially those two detectives." Hinako added as she smiled.

"I'm happy, though." Yankumi said.

"Huh?" Yamato said, as he looked back at her in disbelief.

"You believed Kazama, didn't you?" Yankumi asked him.

"I'd just paid for what I had done." He said, trying to act and look cool.

The girls just rolled their eyes by his cool act.

Yamaguchi was silent for just a minute and she still had a smile on her face. "I see..."

Yamato sighed as he got up from the ground with grunts and wobbly legs. Yankumi asked him if he was able to walk home by his self, while trying to help him but he quickly got out of her grasp.

"I'm not a kid!" Yamato yelled at her.

"You're not an adult either!" Hinako yelled at him.

Yamato ignored her when Yankumi said, "Even so...but you are one of my precious students. You, Kazama, Takaishi, and Sakurai."

Yamato was silent. He appeared to be in thought for a moment, until he scoffed. "Don't make me laugh." He picked up his school bag and walked down the hill, away from the three females.

"He's such a hard-headed bastard isn't he...?" Hinako said as she looked at both Izumi and Yankumi. "Well, we better get home. See you later, Yankumi!" She waved goodbye to walk down the hill along with Izumi.

"Huh? You just called me Yankumi!" Yamaguchi said, surprised.

"Of course, I did!" Hinako yelled, not turning back.

After the girls say goodbye to each other, Hinako walked her way back home. However, she learns that Yamato was walking the same path as her. He couldn't really forget her face at that point.

"You're not as fearless as I thought." Yamato starts to speak.

"Eh?" Hinako said, confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"In the middle of your fight you were shivering, right?" He said as Hinako reacted in surprise.

"It has nothing to do with you!" She shouted, trying to cover up her fears.

"I didn't say it did…" Yamato said as he was cleaning off his bloody lips.

Hinako noticed the blood on his fingers and she quickly gazed away, as she was still upset about the view of blood she saw in the warehouse. But she didn't want to admit to Yamato.

"It's the blood, am I right?" He said. "I can tell by the look on your face."

It seems that Yamato already read Hinako's mind.

"Like I said, it has nothing to do with you!" Hinako said as she took off running, by taking another direction home and far away from _him_.

' _She's one weird girl…_ ' Yamato thought to herself.

Early the next morning, the newspapers' headline was about the true culprits of the serial muggings was being apprehended and charged. However, at Akadou in the gymnasium, the student body was there with the teachers standing in front of the stage. Sawatari was on the stage with a microphone.

"I have an announcement." Sawatari said. "You might already know this...a student from 3-D came under the suspicion for the serial muggings. Thankfully, the real culprit has been captured, but even being under suspicion is a shameful thing!" He screeched.

All the 3-D boys glared at the head teacher. Before anyone could even blink, the boys of 3-D started shouting. They made their way up to the stage only to be pushed back by the male teachers. The teachers tried to calm them down.

As that was happening, the girls were walking to school and they saw Yankumi talking to Yamato and Ren. It seems Ren was thanking Yamato, who was sitting against the brick wall of the school, touching his injuries. Soon enough, they saw the girls walking towards them, and they both hear Ren and Yamato's conversation.

"I heard you find the culprit." Ren said.

"It's not like I did it for your sake or anything." Yamato answered, looking up at the sky. He turned his head to look at Ren. "I haven't settled things with you yet." Ren rolled his eyes.

"You should thank the girls too." Yamaguchi said as she looked the two girls. "They were trying to find the culprit as well."

Ren turned and face the girls with a surprised look.

"Thanks!" He said with a smile.

"No problem!" Izumi said as she gives Ren a smile, a thumbs-up, and a wink.

"We were just trying to prove your innocence." Hinako added, with a simple smile.

Yamaguchi looked at her four students with a huge smile. It creeped Ren out. "What?" He asked. Then suddenly she made a weird squealing sound, like she was going to explode from happiness. She jumped to her feet and ruffled both Yamato and Ren's hair. "Yosh! Let's say you buried the hatchet for the time being!"

"Hatchet?" Yamato, Ren, Hinako, and Izumi said at the very same time. They were confused by Yamaguchi's sentence.

Yankumi gasped a little in realization. She shuffled her feet. "Ah, well, I just meant makeup. Yes, makeup."

"Yamaguchi-sensei!" Takano-sensei shouts as she ran towards the five. "It's terrible! Hurry up and come!"

As Yankumi ran along with Takano-sensei, the four teens stood (sat, in Yamato's case) in silence. Ren and Yamato avoided each other's gazes. Hinako looked at Yamato's face and noticed that his wounds were still fresh. When Yamato stood up from his spot, Hinako sighed, as she dug through her school bag.

"Here." Hinako held out some antibiotic cream. "That cheap band-aid won't help you that much."

Yamato looked at the Polysporin, then at Hinako. "I don't need that-"

"Take it!" Hinako ordered as she gives Yamato a sharp glare. "Unless you want me to give you more bruises on your face…"

Ren and Izumi looked at them in shock.

Yamato looked down at the Polysporin for a minute, then he took it.

"Come on, Izumi. We don't want to be late." Hinako already started to walk towards the gymnasium as Izumi followed. Ren took one more look at Yamato before following the girls.

Takaishi Hinako. Last night, she was tough, but then she chickened out after seeing blood.

He scowled. He didn't care what she was thinking.

After he placed the Polysporin in his pocket and jogged to the gymnasium, where he met up with Hinako, Izumi and Ren who were standing near the entrance, inside the gymnasium. Yamato saw Yamaguchi walking through a sea of delinquents and jump onto the stage, looking down at her students.

"You guys." Yankumi starts to speak. "Clear your ears and listen carefully." Sawatari tries to silence her, but she ignored him. "You don't call yourselves comrades, if you're just hanging out together to have fun. Real comrades take each other head-on, have complete faith in each other, and develop a lifetime relationship. Don't live a meaning life not knowing that much! You still have a lot of time until you graduate. It's not too late. Make some real invaluable comrades." She smiled at them, including the four in the very back. "I'll be with you guys until the very end. Don't run away!"

Everyone in the gymnasium looked at Yankumi; some in awe, some just glared, and some took it as a little challenge.

"Hey, Izumi, I think we're going to have a _very_ interesting year here at Akadou." Hinako smiled.

"I agree with you, Hinako." Izumi replied as she smiled.

The girls were getting _this_ feeling. The feeling that this school year at Akadou will be different.

Very epically different…

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Yay! The third and final part of Episode 1 is here! Hurray!**

 **In this part, we've learned that Hinako has a fear of blood. We'll eventually found out why she has a fear of blood, later in the story. Also, we've learned that Hinako strongly reacts whenever someone said (are you serious?), or any derivation of the word. Throughout the story, she will fight against whoever had spoken the words. Before she fights her opponents, she'll look at them in the eyes and shouts: "In this world, there is nothing but serious!" I got this line from Atsuko Maeda in Majisuka Gakuen Season 1 when she fights and quickly takes out all of Team Hormone, who were beating the transfer student, Daruma. But in this story, I changed it from serious to seriousness.**

 **I don't own the Gokusen series. Only my original characters.**

 **Please comment and tell me what you think of the story so far. It's would be helpful. Also, let me know how you got into Gokusen in the first place!**


	6. Episode 2

Episode 2: From now on, we are friends!

It's been nearly a week since Ren returned to school, and Yamaguchi hasn't quit her teaching job. The girls thought their new homeroom teacher was a bit too childish, but somehow very interesting as well. Determined to teach Class 3-D the true meaning of comradeship, Yankumi seeks out different ways to relate and get closer to the students, yet all her efforts seem to be thwarted.

Right now, Hinako was walking to school on a nice sunny April morning, feeling lazy and bored. She faced the big open blue sky with her eyes closed, feeling the nice breeze through her body. Hinako took a deep breath, before opening her eyes only to see Yamaguchi running passed her.

"Ogata, Honjo, Kamiya!" Yankumi yelled out as she walks behind the three boys. Hinako felt lucky because Yamaguchi didn't stop to talk to her. The three boys turned to face her as she started waving her hands happily and telling them. "Good Morning!"

"What? Man, she's too high-strung this early in the morning." Honjo said as he couldn't believe his eyes.

Yamato and Kamiya rolled their eyes, not happy to see Yamaguchi this morning.

"Lame!" Kamiya added.

"Let's go!" Yamato uttered as he placed his bag above his shoulder. But before he took off running, he accidentally crashed into Hinako. It seemed that she was trying to avoid Yamaguchi as well, only to ended up in Yamato's way and crashing into him.

As Hinako fell to the ground, Yamato turned and glared at her as he runs away along with Honjo and Kamiya. Yankumi still yelled out for the three boys. "Hey...Hey! You guys!"

Hinako gave her a light wave and then rushed off, feeling embarrassed for crashing into Yamato.

Yamato and his group run towards the hill where they met up with Ren and his group. They glared each other, and as Yamaguchi went on yelling.

"Kazama, Ichimura, Kuraki!" Yankumi yelled out. "Hey! Good morning!"

"She lasted longer than I thought she would." Ichimura said.

"Should I punch her one of these times?" Kuraki said punching the air but Ren wasn't in the mood.

"Leave the damn teacher alone." Ren said as he scuffed his eyes never leaving Yamato's crew with Ichi and Kura following him.

Inside Class 3-D, Hinako meets up with Izumi as they were both sitting at their desks, bored-out-of-their-minds. However, the girls see a couple of fights broke out in class. There was an open brawl in the middle of the classroom while the rest of the boys sat back and cheered the fighters on. Izumi saw that she was sitting by Ren in the very back of the classroom as he watches the boys threw punches at each other. Ichi and Kura were sitting in the front row cheering the fights on, while Ren watched the fights, calmly, like a leader. Hinako looked over at Yamato. He was sitting in his desk calmly watching the fights like a leader as well while Honjo and Kamiya were standing cheering on the fights just like Ichi and Kura in the very same way.

"Those six are more alike than they realize, don't you think?" Hinako whispered to Izumi.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird." Izumi whispered as she silently laughed.

The door slid open as Yamaguchi walked in with Sawatari and Yajima-sensei.

"What on earth are you doing? Stop it!" Yamaguchi yelled.

"This doesn't concern any damn teachers!" Honjo yelled.

"Why don't you just shut up!" Kamiya added.

As the two male teachers yelled at the boys to stop fighting, Yamaguchi tried to pull them apart.

"Come on, cut it out! Stop it!" Yamaguchi said as she fell in front of Ichi and Kura.

"Hey, stop butting in all the time." Ichi said.

"Sit, idiot!" Kura added.

"Okay, go to your house." Ichi said as he and Kura shooed her away like a dog.

Yamaguchi got back up only to be shoved to the ground again. Suddenly she got up on the desk at the front of the classroom.

"Give it a break already!" Yankumi was standing on top of the podium and shout out at the class. "If you want to fight that badly, I'll take you on! Let's go outside!" She pointed towards the door.

The room was full of silence, even the boys that were fighting had stopped to stare at her in shock and judging by the look on her face she hadn't realized what she had just done.

Yamaguchi gasped as if she realized what she had done, while Yamato and Ren looked at her with serious looks on their face. She quickly got down from the desk and tried to cover it up.

"Outside...ow..." Yankumi said as she knelt down and grabbed her ankle. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Does she honestly think that's gonna work?" Izumi mumbled to Hinako.

"No way…" Hinako replied as she shook her head.

The whole class remained silent for only a few seconds before the bell rang in time for lunch. Everyone walked out of the classroom like nothing even happened. Izumi went to get some lunch, while Hinako made her way to the roof who didn't forget to bring her lunch this time. She sit down at a bench. After she quickly ate her lunch, Hinako read a book that she brought from home and starts reading it. Suddenly the roof door opened making Hinako jump. She watched Yamato who looked piss as he walk to the edge of the roof. He sighed while leaning against the edge not noticing Hinako at all. Then he sighed again.

"You know I can't read with all that sighing you're doing!" Hinako announced her appearance, catching Yamato's attention.

"And? Your point is?" Yamato snapped looking out to watch others having lunch on the grass in front of the school.

Ignoring his comment, Hinako put the book down on the bench, then she got up and walked over to him and leaned against the edge as well. "I thought you would have skipped school by now along with Honjo and Kamiya." She said, while watching some of the 3-D boys stealing lunch from freshman.

"Well, we were going to, but then that annoying teacher showed up…" He grumbled. "I swear, why does she even try so hard when she knows we hate teachers?"

"Maybe she's not like other teachers."

"I doubt that. So…what about you?" Yamato looked at her. "Why aren't you with Izumi?"

"She forgot her lunch at home, so she went downstairs to get something to eat. And I just finished my lunch, so I'm just reading a book." Hinako explained, plainly.

After a few minutes, the bell rang signaling the end of lunchtime. The girls both walked to class. When they got to class, Yamaguchi walked in and she placed a yellow can on her desk that had the name "Nakama" listed on it.

"Let's start the 3-D "kick the can" competition!" She cheered.

' _Baka…_ ' Hinako thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

' _Is she for real?_ ' Izumi thought to herself while rolling her eyes as well.

"Hey! Why do we have to do this childish crap?!" Honjo complained.

"What this class needs right now is a sense of solidarity and friendship. In order to build that, everyone needs to work and sweat together, and get passionate about the same thing." She explained trying to sound wise. "Of course, I'll be participation too."

However, no one knew what game it was.

"What the hell is "kick the can" anyway?!" Kura asked.

"Huh? You don't know." She said, surprised.

"We don't know, right?" Kamiya said as he moved his hand in the air over the class getting nodded in agreement.

Yamaguchi's eyes widened a little bit. "You guys don't know the fiery and fun game? The world's at its end."

"You always exaggerate things." Ichi commented.

Yankumi tried to explain the game to them, and said it was the perfect game for them at that very moment but they had no interested at all. Before she left the classroom, she told them to go change into their gym clothes and head out to the field. No one followed her.

Right after school, all of Class 3D (including the two girls) gathered at Shirokin shrine to witness this event, the whole class stood in a long line alongside what would be the battle ground awaiting the one-on-one battle between Ogata Yamato and Kazama Ren and the outcome for the winner would be the head of Akadou. Ichi and Kura stood on the left side while Honjo and Kamiya stood on the right. Ren and Yamato walked up to each other. Yamato threw his bag to the side as Ren just tossed his bag to the ground.

"Izumi, do you think we're safe here?" Hinako asked with a worried look.

"I think so." Izumi nodded at her. "I think we're sitting far away."

Hinako just hoped they didn't draw any attention to themselves on their way in or there would be police here soon enough. Hinako looked to her left where she saw Ren stood focused on Yamato across from him to her right.

"Don't lose Yamato!" Honjo yelled out.

"Deck him good Ren!" Kura said as he punched the air.

"You'd better win." Kamiya yelled as he pointed at Yamato.

"Go ahead and knock him out!" Ichi said, being all cool.

"Go! Go! Alright!" The rest of the class began to cheer even louder.

Hinako and Izumi took out their mobile phones to take pictures. They had never see a fight against guys before (because they went to an all-girls high school). As for Hinako, she's curious of what these two boys got in their fighting guts. The yells became louder until it was hard to tell what exactly each person was yelling out only that tension was building and building until finally it seemed like the two were about to start but then…

"Don't lose you two!"

Another female voice? Everyone became quiet and turned to looked behind her following the disbelieving eyes of 3D until they landed on that pigtailed teacher Yamaguchi, who was in the middle of the long line. She was cheering along with everyone else as if her students weren't about to get into a full out brawl with one another. Everyone else quieted down and settled for simply staring at the woman cheer for the two to fight not realizing she was being stared at.

"Go all out! Fire away!" Yamaguchi shouted as she whooped and punched the air. "Fight! Fight!"

"Shouldn't she be breaking this fight up?" Izumi whispered to Hinako with a confused look.

"Beats me. Maybe she likes to watch fights." Hinako replied with a confused look on her face.

"Why are you here?" Yamato asked as he rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, wouldn't you normally stop it?" Ren asked in confusion.

"There's no need to stop a "bare-one," right?"

"Bare-one?"

"What the hell was a Bare-one?" Izumi said. No one else seemed to know either because they gave her perplexed looks just like Izumi did. Yamaguchi rolled her eyes.

"A bare-handed one-on-one fight, don't you know?" She asked like they were stupid.

"Of course, we don't." Honjo answered.

"Either way, I won't stop it." She said. "Go ahead and fight each other with all your strength. You guys will become real comrades."

"Comrades?" Ren huffed.

"Right. Guys wanting to be the boss are like that." Yamaguchi explained, as she earned a glare from Yamato.

"What do you mean comrades?" Ichi asked.

"You keep saying that, don't you?" Kura observed.

"Let me tell you." Yamato said, getting her attention. "I'm not fighting for that."

Yankumi sighed and took a step towards him. Before she could take another step, her phone rang.

"Just a second." She walked away from the group as her phone rang and she quickly answered it. However, they could still hear her conversation. "A brawl at the Shirokin shrine?"

That caught the boys' attention, including the girls. They all walked up behind her, hoping to hear a little of the conversation as the students crowded up behind her. Yamaguchi hung up her phone and turned to the crowd behind her with a grim look.

"The fuzz are coming!" She stated, getting confused looks in return.

"Fuzz?" The surrounding boys and two girls repeated.

"She _is_ so strange…" Hinako muttered to Izumi who stood right beside her on the left nodding in agreement. "What kind of teacher used slang like that anyway?"

"Who knows…" Izumi said.

"The cops!" Yamaguchi stated. "Everybody run!"

Suddenly it dawned on everyone, the police were coming!

"Ah! This is bad! This is bad!" One of the scrambling Akadou boys yelled out as they all began to panic.

Without any hesitation, like a herd of stampeding bulls the teens, and one adult, ran out of the shrine as fast as their legs could take them at one point running the poor teacher over as they parted running in two different directions. The girls were running as fast as they could until they couldn't anymore. While catching her breath, Hinako looked around and noticed there's no one else in sight. Even though they were far away from the shrine now, Hinako didn't want to get caught by the cops at all. She didn't want to get into trouble at all.

"What on earth was our homeroom teacher _doing_ there?" Izumi was barely able to make out as she slouched forward trying to catch her breath but failing miserably.

"I don't know!" Hinako breathed out. "What was Yamaguchi thinking?!"

That pigtailed teacher was really a strange one to the girls. They knew she was no ordinary teacher. After all of that, the girls decided to head on home for the day.

The next day was dull compared to yesterday, Yamato was still fired up wanting to fight with Ren. As for Ren, he was over thinking what Yamaguchi told him yesterday. That he was his nakama, not his enemy. Hinako and Izumi were heading to school by taking a shortcut through the park, where they noticed Yamato and Ren. Curiosity grew between the two girls as they walked closer to see what the outcome would become between the two leaders of Class 3-D. Hinako would usually ignore them, but not this time. This time, she couldn't…

"Let's do this!" Yamato started as he was fired up walking towards Ren.

"Time-out." Ren said, turning his gaze away from Yamato.

"What?" Yamato said, as he stopped.

"Hey, can we stop this already?" Ren asked seriously which shocked the girls a little.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yamato asked.

"I don't really care if you lead the class." Ren honestly admitted.

"That'd be meaningless." Yamato yelled, getting angrier that Ren didn't want to fight him. "Unless I beat you in a fight, I can't call myself the head."

"I don't really care any more about being the head or ruling Akadou." Ren shrugged.

"Well then start caring!" Yamato yelled out, before he stormed over and punching Ren in the face, catching the attention of Hinako and Izumi as they saw Yamato kicked Ren to the ground.

"This should be interesting." Hinako mumbled as Izumi nodded.

"Stand up! Bring it!" Yamato yelled out.

Ren gathered his fists and stood up. "You ass!" He howled as he punched Yamato.

Hinako and Izumi were watching and paying very close attention, noticed that it's just got serious. Ren and Yamato threw punches and kicked at each other. Ren punched him once, then twice. Yamato dodged the second punch, and then he punches Ren in the face again with his left fist. Then Yamato went on kicking him once, and then twice in his stomach. Then Ren repeatedly went on kicking Yamato three times in his guts.

"That's gotten hurt!" Izumi mumbled while Hinako nodded.

"Stand up!" Ren shouted as he pulled Yamato up.

While Yamato turned around and clipped Ren between his arms, and strongly holding him into his grip. Ren grabbed Yamato's shoulder, flipping him over his head and letting him crush against the ground. The fight went on like that until Hinako noticed they both picked up a piece of wood.

"We got to stop them!" Hinako shouted as Izumi nodded.

Both girls ran to stop the boys before they hit each other, but Yamaguchi beat them to it.

"Stop playing around!" Yankumi yelled out as she gets between the two boys and stopped them by grabbing both their weapons and pushing them to the ground with all her strength. Then she threw the two pieces of wood aside. "A one-on-one is supposed to be bare-handed."

"Whether bare-handed or armed, winning's all that matters in a fight." Yamato argued.

"You didn't stop us yesterday, did you? So why the hell are you stopping us now." Ren yelled, in frustration.

"Because yesterday was bare-handed." Yankumi explained, like she's talking to a child. "The brats nowadays don't know how to fight properly. They don't understand moderation, they go overboard." She said. "Listen up. When you hit someone, your own fists hurt, right? If you feel that pain, you shouldn't want to hit someone for no good reason."

"We don't need a lecture on hitting someone!" Yamato interrupted. "A fight is fought in order to win!"

"That's not it at all." She said softly.

"Yamato!"

"Ren!"

The girls looked over to see Honjo and Kamiya running towards Yamato, and Ichi and Kura running towards Ren.

"Alright, listen well." The girls turned their attention back to Yamaguchi. "People can't live on their own. In order to live you have to have comrades. Real comrades are those who will be with you when you're in the most pain. They can show their weaknesses and tears in front of you. Before you realize it, they're by your side. A fight is to protect those comrades and other things that are precious to you. Fighting just for yourself is meaningless."

"Can it with the pretty words." Yamato said as he interrupts her again. "I can't take all this shit from you teachers!"

With that said, he walked off with Honjo and Kamiya following. Yamaguchi called after him as Ren turned and left in the opposite direction of Yamato. Ichi and Kura followed him.

"Just don't forget this." She called out, after them. "There's no top, bottom, high, or low among comrades. Those things don't matter." Yankumi watched them walk away then turned to the girls.

"Nani?" Yamaguchi asked.

"If it was a fair fight, and it had a meaning you would not interfere?" Hinako asked.

"Yes." The pigtailed teacher just smiled and nodded at the two girls. "You two have accepted Ogata and Kazama as your comrades, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I guess we have." Hinako smiled slightly. "What do you think, Izumi?"

"I think so too." Izumi added as she smiled.

Later that day as it became nighttime, the girls were walking into a tunnel of an overpass, until they noticed Yamato and his friends Honjo and Kamiya. They were getting beat up by a street gang that's wearing all yellow.

"Yamato…" Hinako mumbled.

On the other side of the tunnel, there was Ren and his friends Ichi and Kura.

"There's a cute girl working at that restaurant now. Let's go there!" Kura suggested. Even Ichi sound eager to do that, but Ren wasn't.

"Not interested." Ren grumbled.

"Right, then let's go to karaoke!" The three boys descended some steps and walked on as Kura bantered on about what song he would sing this time.

"Oi!" Ichi stopped walking. "Isn't that Yamato?"

"Huh?" Ren said.

Ren and Kura stopped walking. They turned back and looked where Ichi was looking. There was a big commotion going on under the tunnel they had gotten ready to walk away from. Many of the guys that they saw the street gang wearing all yellow. There was a break in the crowd. One of those bastards had Yamato in a tight headlock while his friends used him as a punching bag! Honjo and Kamiya were in over their heads so there was no one to help him. The three boys were getting the life beaten out of them!

"Even Yamato can't win against that many guys!" Kura said.

"Wouldn't it be better to call the cops to handle this?" Ichi suggested.

"No man, the cops are bad news." Kura replied.

"Well, what should we do then?" Ichi asked as he turned to Kura.

On the other side of the tunnel, Hinako and Izumi were still watching.

"We got to do something!" Izumi suggested.

"Right." Hinako said as she nodded. "I'll help Yamato. You'll help Honjo and Kamiya."

"Roger-Dodger!" Izumi said, giving a salute.

With that said, the girls got ready to charge the gang, and they were charging in full force at the gang beating up Yamato and his friends. Ren, Kura and Ichi watched with wide eyes as they saw the girls coming in full force. Hinako took off her bag and started swinging it. Many of the gang members jumped back and at least two of them felt just how much it hurts to be hit with a bag full of textbooks. When she was close enough she dropped her bag a delivered a well calculated and hard kick to the face of the guy holding Yamato. Yamato dropped to his knee gasping for air when the thug let him go. "Yamato-kun, Daijobu?"

"Are you crazy or stupid?!" Yamato said as he snarled at her when he realized it was Hinako that had just saved him. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I'm about to save your sorry ass! Because you're my nakama!" Hinako shouted out.

Yamato looked at her in surprise. Hinako noticed the blood on the floor and then fell to her knees into Yamato's arms. One of the thugs, punches Izumi in the face and she fell to the ground. Then, one thug tries to hit her with a metal pipe. Suddenly the whole tunnel echoed with a fierce cry. Izumi whirled around, and she was surprised to find Ren charging into the tunnel with the fray with a hazard pole in hand. He charged past the girls and swung it wildly making the thugs back up even more and leaving an opening for Yamato and his crew.

"Run for it!" Ren ordered.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Izumi shouted as she helped Honjo and Kamiya get on their feet and quicker than lighting they were running out of the tunnel. Yamato quickly followed hurrying out of the tunnel, but then he turned back to see Hinako who was still lost within her mind and sitting on the ground, trying to get up. But she was shivering in fear.

As she tries to get up one more time, she felt two hands with a very strong grip, pulling her up. She stood up and saw Yamato who pulled her up. Yamato noticed that she was looking very pale and still shivering in fear.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Yamato said as he looked at her straight to the face.

"H-Hai…" Hinako replied softly as she nodded.

In a split second, he grabbed Hinako's hand and they quickly took off out of the tunnel while Ren and his group distracted the thugs pelting them with traffic cones any other construction equipment they could get their hands on. Soon all eight of them were charging up the steps screaming the whole way until they come across a familiar little bridge came into view when the teens finally ran past their limit. They jogged to it and dropped like over worked dogs panting and gasping for air.

"I can't run anymore!" Ichi shouted as he panted.

"We should be fine, coming this far." Honjo said, looking around.

"Man, if I run anymore I'm going to die!" Kura complained.

"No kidding." Kamiya panted as he nodded in agreement.

Slowly they regained their breaths and they noticed who we were sitting beside. Ichi with Honjo, Kura by Kamiya, and the girls were sitting between Yamato and Ren. Yamato noticed that he was still holding Hinako's hand. As he and Ren awkwardly turned away from one another coughing and clearing their throats like the others did, Yamato quickly let go of her hand. There was now an odd silence circling the eight teens that sat awkwardly with one another on the bridge.

"Are you hurt?" Ren spoke up breaking the silence.

"Nah." Yamato replied.

"I see." Ren said, feeling awkward.

"I owe you one, huh?" Yamato sighed.

"It doesn't matter." Ren mumbled.

After a few minutes of awkwardness, the group of eight stood. Hinako said goodbye to Izumi before heading home to her apartment. Yamato called after her. She stopped. Yamato said bye to both Honjo and Kamiya and then he walked up to her.

"Is it ok if I walk with you? I'm this way too."

Hinako didn't say anything. She just nodded, before walking again. As they both walked, there was silence between the two, but it wasn't awkward though. It was actually a very comfortable silence, until Yamato spoke up breaking the silence.

"What did you see just now?" Yamato asked, in a calm tone. "Was it blood again or what?"

"It has nothing to do with you." Hinako replied as she starts shivering while walking away.

Yamato walked after her, really curious. "But I saw you shivering when you saw blood on the ground. That clearly means you're scared of blood. Why is that?"

Hinako looked at him. "It's nothing." Hinako tries to smile to show that she was just fine, but Yamato saw right through her.

"Baka!" Yamato said. "Whatever. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

They walked along until they came to Hinako's apartment. She turned to him.

"Arigato, for walking me home." Hinako said as she bowed to Yamato as he nodded. "Also, thank you for the other night…I wanted to thank you again for walking me home the other night too."

"It was no problem, really." Yamato said as he shrugged.

"You're really a nice guy, Yamato." Hinako said as she smiled. Before she went inside, she went over to Yamato and kissed him on the cheek. With a quick good-bye, she walks up to her apartment and closed the door. Yamato still stood there wondering what just happened. After a nice hot bath and a hot bowl of ramen, she went to bed.

~The Next Morning~

Izumi was walking alone to school until she met up with Ren and his group. They invited to walk to school with her. However, Kura was slowing them down.

"Hold on!" Kura yelled out stumbling behind the group. "I ran so much yesterday! I'm all sore!" Izumi chuckled a bit while exchanging grins with Ren as they all made their way to school together.

"Alright!" Ren laughed jumping off a low wall onto a path under the park bridge. He turned around and offers his hand to her so that way she didn't have to jump, however, she didn't even mind it. Ren gently set her down.

"Thanks…" Izumi said as she smiled.

"Kura, you're totally out of shape." Izumi laughed looking back at Kura as he jumped the wall though she could understand herself about complaining of being sore. Her own thighs were still aching from the hard running from that gang they did last night. But thanks to Ren and his crew including herself and Hinako, they help Yamato and his crew to escape from those thugs in yellow in one piece.

"Shut up!" Kura barked landing on the ground and winced, "Itai Itai Itai!" He groaned. "I can't walk anymore!" He yelled to the sky while his friends simply laughed walking ahead of him about to walk under the bridge.

"Metabolic Syndrome?" Ichi asked, as the three looked back at Kura, laughing. Kura grumbled something and charged at them making the three take off into the dark tunnel laughing the whole way but then suddenly something blocked their exit out of the tunnel.

Ren pulled Izumi to a stop just as she realized that it wasn't something but rather someone's group blocking their way out. They all wore yellow. It was the same street gang that they've escape from last night. Ren immediately went into protective mode by holding on to her protectively and squeezing her hand slightly while eyeing the guys before them.

"Izumi…" He mumbled. "Run…"

"Eh?" She looked at him with wide eyes before he already let go of her hand and was pushing her back the way they had come through.

" _RUN!_ " He barked sterner and Izumi knew that she had no choice. Kura stepped aside allowing her space to run as fast as she could with her sore legs and in her old school uniform. She'd had to go to Akadou! That's what she'd do! She'll tell Hinako and Yamato along with his friends Honjo and Kamiya to help! They do own Ren that much! She had to hurry. Just as light from outside the tunnel became brighter and Izumi was about to run out into the open, until a very strong arm connected with her stomach and knocked the wind out of her. She yelped out before being sent tumbling backwards onto the concrete hard.

"Izumi!" Ren called out to her as she grunted and pushed herself up slightly with a wince.

"Thanks for yesterday!" One of the guys in yellow said, smugly as they moved to surround the boys. One of them stayed behind standing by Izumi letting her know they weren't letting her get away either. Ren looked back at her and in the second that their eyes connected there was a wordless understanding of just how bad the situation was.

"You're coming with us!" The guy growled, nodding his head to his comrades.

It all happened so fast after that.

The gang of guys charged for Ren, Ichi and Kura. The boys were ready though; tensing up and ready to fight even though they knew the odds were against them. The guy right behind Izumi grabbed the back of her blazer and yanked her to her feet hard, she swung at him to try and get him to let go but he merely back handed her making her cry out.

"You bastard!" Ren snarled struggling against the two goons who were holding him back glaring fiery eyes of hate towards the one who hit Izumi. It seemed this action angered the three boys even more but destroyed any will to fight back. Izumi's arms were held behind her back into a painful angle making her almost tear up from it.

"Is this your girlfriend?" The guy who's holding her asked, as he smiled and looked over Izumi's body. She eyed at him with disgust catching his lustful looks. Holding onto her arms with one hand he fingered on the badge of her school uniform. "Kuro Saigai, huh?"

"Ren!" Izumi called out, trying to break free from the hand holding her but her capture simply bends her arms making more pain crawl through her arms, he yanks her back to him.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt the girl if you come along with us without a fight." The guy said, as he wraps an arm around Izumi's waist and resting his chin on her shoulder, Izumi scrunched up her nose at how comfy he was getting. Izumi and Ren's eyes meet, and the short argument starts as she begs with her eyes not to give in, to fight, that she would be alright, but Ren wouldn't hear it out, so his eyes shadowed over with defeat and he sighed relaxing himself.

Meanwhile in Class 3-D, Yamato and his friends Honjo and Kamiya were talking about last night's fight with that street gang. Even talking about how tough the two girls are. As for Hinako, she was sitting at the desk reading a book.

"Geez, last night was really nuts!" Kamiya said as Yamato nodded to his comment with a large grin spreading on his face but it was only short lived. The girls Hinako and Izumi were in the lead with three to zero stepping in and saving their butts. Even Yamato had to admit he thought they were goners back there and even with Ren's help they might not have made it out of there.

"Speaking of Ren and his crew, shouldn't they be here right now?" Hinako voiced her thoughts to the boys.

"They might be ditching today." Honjo suggested.

Hinako was also puzzled about where Izumi was right now.

Suddenly the front door slid open and some guys rushed in. "Come quick! Ren's crew is being attacked by some dangerous guys!" They announced.

"They even got Izumi-chan as well!" Another guy added as Hinako's eyes widened in shock.

"Those bastards from yesterday…" Yamato said.

"Izumi!" Hinako shouted as she quickly got up from her desk and rush out of the classroom.

"Hinako!" Yamato called out. "That girl…" He got up and runs after her.

"Oi, Yamato!" Honjo shouted out.

"What should we do?" Kamiya asked.

"We've got to go!" Honjo replied as he and Kamiya got up from their desks and ran out of class.

Inside a warehouse, Izumi tried her very best to fight back any tears as she had no choice but to helplessly watch this gang of thugs beat up Kura, Ichi and Ren with their kicks, fists and poles. She would have fought too, but the gang's leader had a firm fist full of her hair and every time she tried to break free he would yank painfully hard at it, not only that but he would simply order his goons to beat her classmates up even harder. Izumi tried, she tried so hard, but she failed as Ren took a pole to the back and fell to the ground before her and the gang's leader and burst into tears.

Ren grunted in pain and looked up at Izumi and the bastard that had her on her knees like a helpless little dog! His anger only grew more as he saw tears forming into the girl's eyes and though she fought it they eventually ran down her cheeks. With a slight motion from the boss, Ren's assailants stopped their attack.

"With high school brats looking down on us, we can't maintain face." The boss informed the three boys, as he kept his grip pulling on Izumi's hair to keep her from falling.

"Stop it!"

Izumi turned her head the best she could to see the entrance of the warehouse, where they've all been dragged into. "Hinako…" She mumbled, seeing her best friend standing at the entrance with Yamato, Honjo and Kamiya. The boss holding Izumi's hair chuckled turning to face the four fully, he yanked Izumi's head back before throwing her forward making her stumble to her hands and knees right beside Ren.

"What, did just four of you come to save these guys?" He asked, amused. "Are you idiots?" Then his gang laughed around them. Luckily, they were distracted with the newcomers that they didn't notice Ren push himself up slightly, so he could crawl over to Izumi to see if she was fine.

"Izumi…are you alright?" He asked, grunted lowly.

"Yeah…I'm fine…" She replied at him with a weak smile as Ren smiled back at her.

"They weren't involved. Keep your hands off them!" Yamato yelled out as he demanded.

"Don't screw around with me!" The gang boss snapped. "They're your comrades, right?"

There was a moment of silence as Yamato appeared to think it over.

"They're not my comrades!" Yamato responded by lying, trying to protect them.

"Stop talking nonsense!" The boss shouted out as he and his gang charged as well as Hinako along with Yamato and his gang.

That was when the real fight was about to begin…

Finally, Izumi let loose pushing herself to her feet and charging at the nearest goon.

One of the thugs had his arms high ready to swing down on Ren, while Ren on the other hand wound up to punch the guy. Izumi yelled out in anger jumping onto the guy's back and grabbing onto the pole with both hands as tightly as she could.

"Izumi!" Ren spoke out in surprise watching the guy struggle to get that tiny girl off his back.

"Get off you stupid little bitch!" The guy yelled out, trying to throw her off him but she held strong.

"Are you stupid?" She yelled out at Ren taking him by surprise. "Hit him! Now!" It took him only a minute, but he seem to get what she was getting at and punched the guy one, then twice and he was down, Izumi finished it off delivering a swift kick to the guy's gut making him curl up in pain.

"Nice." Ren commented making Izumi grinned slightly before coming alert.

"Ren! Duck!" She yelled out, gripping the pole in her hands and swung it over Ren's head as he ducked connecting with another pole. The guy holding it grunting in surprise as Izumi pushed back. "What kind of spineless punk attacks someone with their back turned, huh?" She spun around and smacked him hard across the side of his head. Ren watched with slight surprise, he often forgot that a girl could fight and well at that too.

The fight raged on with yelling, grunts, punching and cries of pain. For a while the teens had the upper hand breaking off into pairs and taking on whoever was near, divide and conquer was the best term for it. At one point of time Izumi found herself back to back with Hinako.

"Been a while since we fought together like this, huh Hinako?" Izumi commented.

"You got that right!" Hinako chuckled as she smiled at her, which made Izumi smirked slightly.

"You okay, Hinako?"

"Peachy. Just peachy. In a good way."

With that said, the girls get back into the fight. What appeared to be the upper hand quickly turned against them though, before Izumi knew what hit her was a sharp pain shooting through her back. She screamed dropping to the ground just as another blow was dealt to her the same could be said for Ren and the rest of her friends until Yamato's gang started covering them from the blows. As for the girls, Ren dropped to his knees and threw himself over Izumi blocking her from the blows, while Yamato threw himself over Hinako.

"Cut it out!" A voice yelled out and all the chaos stopped.

The group of eight looked up in surprise to see Yamaguchi glaring down at the crowd. Having a new target, the street gang moved from the teens allowing them all to recover from their attacks. Once the gang had left them all be, Yamato rolled himself off of Hinako and struggles to help her roll onto her back. When she did, Hinako looked over to him weakly. Her body ached bad from the blows dealt while she fought it made her wince with every move she made.

"Does your back hurt?" Yamato grunted as he sit right beside her.

"No, I'm fine." Hinako replied as she painfully rolling onto her side to see Ren and Izumi.

Ren rolled himself off of Izumi and gently help her roll onto her back as well. He wanted to make sure if she was ok. "Izumi…" He grunted. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…but I'm sorry…" Izumi replied, weakly at him as she had tears running down her face. She could have stop this all, she could have dealt with the pain of having her hair pulled if it would have saved Ren from getting all those bruises like he did, she was pathetic. Ren returned the smile trying to act like it was nothing, but it was obvious he was hurting slightly. "I promise I will never let you get hurt like that ever again…" She said, as Ren instantly chuckle.

"That should be my line…cause next time I'll protect you…" He said, before reaching out and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Thanks, Ren…" Izumi smiled, still feeling weak.

Yamato and Hinako both watched this short scene in silence not sure what to make of it.

After that, Yamato and Ren helped both of the girls to their feet and turned their attention to Yamaguchi who was watching the gang of thugs took off after getting the beating of their lives. That dorky teacher took them all down by herself!

"Why are you so strong?" Yamato asked, staring at his homeroom teacher in utter shock.

"That's because I want to protect what's important to me." The woman replied with a fond smile.

"You guys sure are idiots. Getting this beat up." Yamguchi winced as she faced the eight. "But you're pretty admirable. You did well." Yamaguchi said gazing at the group of eight.

"Don't praise us." Honjo said.

"These guys helped us yesterday." Yamato said. "Including the girls."

"Having a debt is annoying, you know." Kamiya added.

"It's not like we did much to save you." Ren scuffed.

"We just all ran away together." Ichimura said.

"It wasn't cool at all." Kuraki added.

"You got that right." Izumi agreed.

"Not cool like when we run away like cowards, is it?" Hinako said as the seven agreed with her by nodding in agreement.

"That's just fine." Yamaguchi smiled. "When you realized, you were running. When you realized, you were together. That's just fine. That's comradery. The eight of you are really comrades."

The group of eight avoided eye contact with one another at this and left completely speechless.

"Hey you guys, let's go back to school." Yamaguchi said.

As they walked through the school gates, Yamaguchi explains what she's going to do.

"The head teacher might raise a fuss again but don't worry." She said. "I'll be sure to protect you."

When she didn't hear anything from them, she turned around to see the group of eight, gone.

"Those guys!" Yankumi growled.

Yamaguchi runs up to the school's field, looking for them and then she saw the group of eight walking towards her. She looked puzzled about this.

"What the heck are you doing here?" She asked them. Yankumi then noticed that Hinako was holding the Nakama-Can.

"We thought we'd give kick-the-can a try." Yamato starts to speak.

"Huh?" Yankumi said.

"But only once." Ren added.

Yamaguchi grew a smile on her face. "You guys…" She walks up to them ruffles the heads.

"That's a boy!" She ruffles with the boys. "Way to go, you guys." She ruffles with the girls.

"Cut it out!" Izumi said.

"Alright, call everyone!" Yamaguchi said. "The kick the can competition with all of 3-D! Alright!" After that, she runs out to the field.

"What a strange teacher." Ren said.

"Yeah, but she's kind of interesting." Yamato added as the others nodded in agreement.

With that said, the eight knew this was the beginning of a wonderful friendship between them.

' _I think I'm gonna like it here…_ ' Hinako thought to herself as she smiled at her homeroom teacher.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Just some of the dialogues from Gokusen season 3. I don't own Gokusen or anything else of it. I only own my characters.** **It's hard making unique OC but so much fuuuun!**

 **I hope you all are having fun reading this Gokusen fanfic. Review and watch out when upload on Wattpad if you have an account on Wattpad.** **Also, there are few better stories than mine that follow this drama and are very well written you should take a look at HazeSaitou and Sunrisepainter stories and others. They have written really amazing fun-fictions, with better details. Hopefully, I'm doing as good as they are.**

 **Thank you for reading! Please comment or review!**

 **Throughout this chapter, the six boys slowly accept the girls.**

 **Next chapter,** **Yamato's and Ren's sides have now made peace, and the girls have joined up in their new group and become the group of eight.**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **Nakama means friend or Comrade in Japanese.**


	7. Episode 3

Episode 3: Start over anytime!

It was a nice day today as the girls were waiting for their favorite group of six. It was way too nice to be stuck inside learning, at least that's what Hinako was thinking. But to Hinako, she was happy. No, she was more than happy. She was ecstatic. That includes Izumi as well. Yamato's and Ren's sides have now made peace, both Yamato and Ren agreed to be co-leaders of Akadou, they even agreed to let Hinako and Izumi be the "female" co-leaders of Akadou. So, now instead of being two separate gangs of three and the girls being one gang of two, they've now become a gang of eight. And with the Spring Inter-Class Competition nearing, Yankumi is more fired-up to have the whole class join and conquer the rugby match.

"Ohayou!" Hinako said as she and Izumi walked up and in between Yamato and Ren completing the line of eight.

"Man, I'm so tired." Izumi said, feeling lazy.

"When aren't you so tired?" Ren asked as he ruffled her hair.

"When I am sleeping." Izumi said as she swatted his hand away. Ren didn't say anything, he just laughs. "I'm not kidding!" She shouted.

Ren didn't say anything, he just kept his smile for her, which she blushes about.

"Ah, I actually know how she feels. I'm feeling lazy today too." Honjo said as he stretched.

"Should we skip?" Ren suggested. To his delight his buddies agreed with him.

"Yeah, let's!" Kura said as he jumped up and down excitedly.

"That's a good idea!" Honjo added.

"Let's go to karaoke!" Kura suggested.

"Karaoke again?" Ren sighed.

"Can't we just do something quiet?" Izumi suggested. "I want to catch up with my beauty sleep."

"Wouldn't that be a waste?" A voice from behind them asked, stopping the group of eight in their tracks.

"Who said that?" Yamato muttered. Hinako gives him shrugs.

"Sounded like it came from behind us." Hinako said looking over her shoulder and then turning fully around but all she saw were other teens heading for their schools.

Were they hearing things?

Suddenly Hinako felt someone quickly ruffled her hair before moving on to Izumi and then to Ren and so on and so forth. "Good morning you guys!"

The gang of eight groaned as they recognized the voice. They turned again to see Yamaguchi standing there being all cheerful like she was every single morning.

"Not going to class on such a perfect day for studying. How would you plead before the Sun God?" Yamaguchi asked them.

"Huh?"

"You guys seem to be getting along great." Yankumi stared at the eight in an odd kind of look. "I love it!" She exclaimed happily.

"What is that?" Kura questioned while looking at her like she was being stupid. "Do you have a problem?"

"Of course, I have no problem." She then dramatically look off into the distance. "Isn't getting along a beautiful thing?"

Yamato called her an idiot, while Hinako rolled her eyes as they walk past the fantasizing woman. They started making some food suggestions.

"Ah, I want to eat some takoyaki." Kura suggested.

"I just said we should have yakiniku." Honjo suggested.

"Okay, then let's have yakiniku." Kura replied.

"Alright, yakiniku it is!" Honjo replied back.

"I'm ready for some yakiniku." Kura commented as the others cheered his agreement.

"Wooo!" Yamaguchi pushed her way through like a bull suddenly rammed into a gate, but she send Izumi flying into Ren and Hinako flying into Yamato. Both girls quickly moved away as Yamaguchi turned to them.

"Don't be late! Your beloved beautiful teacher is waiting for you!" She said, giving them peace sign, salute, wink and before running off. Leaving the eight in utter confusion.

"Beloved?" Ren asked in confusion.

"Beautiful teacher?" Yamato added.

"Who?" The gang of eight all tilted their heads.

When they got to the classroom, they all moved their desks to the middle of the back. Minutes later, Yankumi walked in with a hand-made bandana tied on across her forehead and carrying a big poster. She stuck the poster on the board before turning the class with a huge, determined smile. She explained that she wanted us to take part in next week's sports competition. When the girls saw it, they knew that nothing good was gonna come of this, because they knew the boys wouldn't want to be in the competition.

"About next week's sports competition." The pigtailed teacher addressed to the whole class. "Because there aren't many of us in the class. Let's only aim at winning the rugby competition." She then turned to the biggest poster on the board. "I call it, Yankumi and 3-D's Win-at-Rugby Operation! Yay!" She clapped. However, the class didn't clap with her. They just stared at her in utter silence and blank stares at her idea, it sounded stupid and was probably a waste of time.

"By the way, what does Yankumi mean?" Kura asked, curiously.

"That's my nickname. Don't hold back, call me that."

The class started to ignore her and going back to their fun and conversations.

"We're late getting started, but we can catch up." Yamaguchi stated. "It's time for us to be united and aim for victory! Oh!"

The class looked at her for a moment and went back to their conversations and fun.

"Hey, did you hear what I said?" Yamaguchi asked.

"It's a pain." Yamato replied.

"Huh?"

"The sports competition doesn't matter." Ichi added.

"It does matter. If it helps this class come together as one!" Yankumi said.

"It doesn't matter if we do." Ren said.

"Even if we participated, there's no way we'd win." Kura added.

"You know, it's a waste of time." Kamiya said as the others agreed.

"In this case, it's not about the result. It's about everyone working together." Yamaguchi explains.

"It's not the Olympics." One of the boys said.

"Rugby's sweaty, right?" Honjo added.

"What are you saying? Rugby is a manly sport!" Yankumi said. "Right? Ohira."

Ohira-kun was holding a football. "This is fashion." He stated.

"Huh?"

"We'd probably lose for too many fouls anyway." Ichi commented.

"Anyway…anyway…How can you young people be so apathetic?!" Yamaguchi said. "You'll never know unless you try and see!" She tried to encourage them to get them all pumped up for the sport's competition. "Anyway! We're starting practice today!" Yamaguchi's annoying voice penetrated the group again and they all looked at her as she was reading a book about Rugby. "Rugby is a spot where everyone steals and passes a single ball, while running for the goal. It's a passionate sport."

' _Good grief…_ ' Izumi thought to herself while looking at Yankumi.

"One for all, all for one!" She cheered as Hinako rolled her eyes.

' _What a pain…_ ' Hinako thought to herself.

She told them to meet her out at the field. But no one did (including the girls). Both girls had to admit it though, they both admire Yamaguchi's determination to get them into school events.

After school, the eight decided to walk around. They ended up passing a tennis court where the girls from Momo High were practicing. Ren, Ichi, Kamiya, Kura and Honjo all glued themselves to the fence, all expect for Yamato of course, because girls weren't on his top ten priorities list. He just turned his back to them in embarrassment along with Hinako and Izumi. Izumi didn't know what to think. She just rolled her eyes at their stupidity.

"And yet they still wonder why they don't have girlfriends at all." Izumi whispered to Hinako.

"That's true." Hinako replied.

"A sports competition without girls is meaningless!" Ren declared as he was grabbing the fence.

"I want half the class to be girls." Ichi said as he wished.

"Two-thirds girls wouldn't be bad either!" Kamiya suggested as the others agreed.

"Three-thirds would be good, too!" Kura added as the boys stupidly nodded in agreement.

"That'd just be a girls' school." Yamato noted.

"Why is our school only guys!?" Honjo whined, getting the attention of the Momo High girls on the tennis court.

"I'm not a guy, ya know!" Izumi shouted as she glared at Honjo.

Hinako quickly grabbed the collar of Izumi's blazer, trying to keep her from killing Honjo. One of the Momo High girls hit a ball over the fence it sailed over and landed a few feet away from the boys. The boys stared at it frozen. Almost instantly, the five boys charged at the ball piling on one another and fighting for it. The Momo girls began to back up in fright as they fought over the ball.

"They're from Akadou Academy." One girl said.

"Shouldn't we call the teacher?" Another girl suggested.

"No, they'd get back at us." One of them replied.

Once the boys noticed the girls turned to run away, they run to the fence and jump on it calling for the girls to come back but they didn't. Hinako laughed a bit, at the five boys and their stupidity. After the boys got down from the fence in disappointment. "What's with them?" Kura said.

"Let's go." Yamato said as Hinako lets go of Izumi's blazer.

In frustration, Kura turned around and threw the tennis ball with the intent of throwing it over the fence, but it instead hit the fence and bounced, bounced, bounced. The eight followed the ball's movement until it came zooming towards them. Take turns as they quickly screamed and ducked out of the way until the little green ball zoomed past them all and then hit a blonde man on a bike in the face knocking him over. All eight gasped and then they took off running before the man on the bike could recover and saw them.

"Numbskulls…" Hinako muttered to herself. But she knew it serves the boys right for trying to spy on the Momo girls like that while they were practicing for their tennis competition.

"That was way too close…" Izumi panted as the boys nodded in agreement.

Later that day, the sky was dark, and the stars were out by the time they reach the downtown area. They still didn't know what to do. The girls just give up and let the boys decide instead.

"Where should we go next?" Kura asked, excitedly.

"Shall we go to our usual place?" Kamiya suggested as he snapped his fingers for the idea.

"Let's go." Ren said, making Kura jump even more with excitement.

"These guys were studying until now?" Honjo asked, in awe as a ton of students flowed out of the doors of the Advanced Educational Seminar.

"Well, duh, it's a cram school after all." Izumi laughed. "Right, Hinako?"

"Ah…right." Hinako replied, leaving the others confused by her look. Luckily, they were distracted by Ichi, talking to some guy who just left the cram school.

"Takasugi?"

"Ichimura."

"Man it's a long time." Ichi smiled.

Takasugi looked Ichi up and down. "See ya." He walked up to his friends. "Sorry."

"What, do you know someone from Akadou Academy?" One of them asked.

"No, I don't know that guy." He replied as Ichi's face fell. "Let's go."

Takasugi looked back at Ichi but then kept on walking. Ichi's face fell even more.

"What was that?" Ren asked as he looked at Ichi. "Someone you know?"

"Yeah." Ichi nodded.

"But man, he's got a pretty bad attitude." Kura remarked, hoping the snob heard him.

"That uniform is from Aoshiba school, right?" Yamato asked, being the observant one, as usual.

"Huh, Aoshib...Aoshiba!?" Honjo asked as he looked at Yamato, who nodded at him. "Isn't that where the really smart kids go?"

"Why do you know someone from there?" Ren asked, with a more curious look on his face.

"Well..." Ichi replied with a light chuckle. "You know, I went to Aoshiba for junior high."

"Huh!?" The seven jumped back in shock.

"Hey Ichi...were you actually smart?" Kamiya hesitantly asked, trying not to offend Ichi.

"I guess." Ichi laughed at their reaction and starts to explain. "But I fell behind and couldn't go the high school there."

"But it's amazing just having been there." Honjo complemented excitingly.

"But you can't tell that now, can you?" Ichi said, doing one of his famous poses.

"Not like we can!" Honjo said as he mocked his pose.

The group of eight laughed as they started walking again. But Ichi fell behind as the others were talking about playing darts. But it seems that Hinako was the only one to notice something was wrong with Ichi and slowed down to walked right beside him. "You okay there, Ichi?" She asked, with a worried look on her face.

"Oh, nothing." He sighed. "Just thinking."

"Don't worry about what Takasugi said." Hinako stated. "He's just being a jerk."

"I won't." He smiled at Hinako. "Want to go play darts?"

"Sure." She smiled.

After that, the group of eight went to their usual place.

~The Next Day~

The boys in Class 3-D were pissed. Because every time some bad happens, all the teachers in the school expect Yamaguchi would point their fingers at them. Sawatari accuses the 3-D boys for messing up the portrait of the Chairman of Akadou with all its scribbles and drawings scattered across it. Then, he accused them for most likely responsible for the recent attacks that happens only at night. However, Yamaguchi defended them, yet again, against Sawatari, who saw her poster for the sports competition, and said that the competition had nothing to do with Class 3-D which angered the 3-D boys a lot, including the two girls. Thinking they were motivated, Yankumi told the whole class to meet her out at the field again, but as always, they didn't follow her.

Later that day, the gang of eight walked around. The six boys were still mad about Sawatari accusing them for every little thing. Honjo started the conversation.

"That damn Sawatari is always accusing us of doing stuff like that." Honjo said.

"Man, he really pisses me off." Kamiya said, as the others nodded in agreement.

"Should I deck him once?" Kura asked, getting a laugh from the seven for once today.

"Sounds good." Izumi added, nodding in agreement.

"Hey, look over there." Hinako pointed to a takoyaki stand. The conversation was completely dropped as they ran over to the stand.

"Three takoyaki please."

The men behind the stand gave them three packs of takoyaki. After they paid for them, they sat on some benches that were in front of the stand. Honjo shared with Kamiya, Kura shared with Ichi, and the girls both shared with Ren and Yamato.

"Yamaguchi...do you think she's still waiting for us?" Kamiya wondered as he was taking a bite.

"She's really persistent." Honjo said with his mouth almost full.

"Maybe we should've gone to the practice for once." Hinako said as she earned some weird looks from the others, including Izumi.

"It doesn't matter, does it Hinako?" Ichi said. "The school doesn't expect much of us anyway."

"Yeah, Yamaguchi has done a lot for us, and for three good reasons." Hinako stated. "One, she proved Ren's innocence when he was accused of the serial muggings and saved Yamato when he got beaten up by the real culprit. Two, she saved our butts from that street gang and we were in trouble. And three, she defended us from Sawatari when he told us that we have nothing to do in the sports competition…You guys get what I'm saying?"

"Well, that's true." Yamato paused for a moment. "And those are good reasons."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Man, this is good." Izumi said.

Getting up and ready to leave, the two guys behind the stand called to the group of eight. "Hey you guys. You're from Akadou Academy?"

They nodded.

The one with the mustache held out a pack of takoyaki. "Here's one on us. Take this with you."

They looked at each other in confusion. Ren told Kura to go get it. He hesitantly reached for it.

"Um thanks." Kura said.

The man suddenly grabbed his arm making the others all flinch. "Listen carefully to what your teacher says."

"Okay."

He let go of Kura. The eight just backed up a little before turning and running away. When they were a pretty good distance away, they just stopped running.

"That was just too weird, don't you think?" Izumi asked, as the others nodded.

The eight walked until they ended up in the downtown area yet again. Kura mentioned something about karaoke. The boys started to complain about Kura's voice, while the girls laugh about it.

"Gomen!" Ichi called out. "I'm heading home first."

Before they could say anything, he took off.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Who knows?"

Hinako thought for a moment. "You don't think he is being bothered by that guy from last night. You know, the one from Aoshiba?"

The others just shrugged.

"I'll go talk to him and see what's bugging him." Kura said before running after Ichi.

The next day, Hinako was walking down the hallway to Class 3-D when Izumi came running from the opposite side of the hallway. "Hinako, we got trouble!" She shouted.

"Trouble?" Hinako repeated in a shocking tone. "What kind of trouble?" She questioned Izumi.

"It's Ichimura." Izumi replied. "He's in trouble."

"Why? What happened?" Hinako asked, curiously.

"He punched _that_ Aoshiba student." Izumi answered.

"He did _what_?!" Hinako yelled out loudly. "Was it one of those Aoshiba boys that we just saw the other night?"

"Yeah, the exact same one." Izumi said, sullenly. "Kura tried to punch one of them but then Ichi stopped him and did it himself. Kura told me everything over the phone this morning."

"I see." Hinako replied. "Come on, let's head to class and fast!" With that said, Hinako took off running to Class 3D with Izumi following her.

When the two walked into the classroom, they could see Sawatari leaning over Ichi's desk. The girls walked out, then they went around and walked in through the back door. The two girls quickly moved their way through some of the boys and then they sat down at both their desks which were in-between Ren's desk and Yamato's desk.

"What's the reason? Didn't you hear me Ichimura?" Sawatari asked, leaning closer to Ichi. "What is your reason for hitting a student from Aoshiba High School?"

"Ichimura, you have a reason, right? Tell us." Yamaguchi said as she wanted to hear Ichi's side of the story.

"It was their bad." Kura began but Ichi stopped him.

"You guys probably started it, didn't you? There's no reason Aoshiba students would start anything with you." Yajima said before hiding behind Sawatari.

"Head teacher, I will have a good talk with him. Can you leave it at this for today?" Yamaguchi requested then she bowed.

"We'll have to consider a severe punishment for Ichimura." Sawatari said smugly before leaving the classroom with Yajima.

"What happened?" Yamaguchi turned to Ichi. "You're not the type to hit someone without a reason."

"Ichi didn't do anything wrong. Those Aoshiba bastards were getting all cocky..." Kura tried to explain what happened, but then Ichi stopped him again.

"Don't say anything unnecessary."

"Yeah, but...Ichi was their classmate in junior high." Kura explained to Yamaguchi. "Even so, those guys were saying bad stuff."

"That doesn't matter!" Ichi yelled out as he stand up. "It doesn't matter, does it? I got upset and hit him. That's all." Then he sat back down. "I wonder if I should drop out of school?"

"Huh?" Everyone in the classroom all looked at him in shock.

"Dropping out won't make a difference anyway. Our future won't amount to much anyway. Everyone probably thinks the same way." Ichi said as he continued with his point. "Well, I guess we can pretty much picture it."

"We're different from Aoshiba students." One of the boys said.

"We're always immediately suspected." Another boy said.

"In the end, we get pegged right away." Another added.

"Nothing's going to change, huh?" Another boy said as the rest of the class agreed.

"Why?" Yamaguchi asked. "Why do you have to compare yourselves against others? Whether you're labeled or not, aren't you pegging yourselves? It's not the world or the teachers, you're comparing yourselves against others! Then, you throw in the towel from the start, saying it's no use. Your lives aren't over at this point! It goes on and on after school is over! You can start over whenever you realize you need to."

Hinako knew that her words cut really deep, and she was right about that. But that only made Ichi even madder than before.

"Those are some pretty words." He said as he stood and got in her face. "Like some damn teacher would understand my feelings!" With that said, Ichi stormed out of the classroom. Then the rest of the class slowly joining him as they piled out of whatever exit they could find just so they could escape the depressing mood within the classroom until the only ones who were still in the room was the group of seven and Yamaguchi. Hinako just sighed as she runs her hand through her hair.

The very next day, Ichi didn't come to school. Kura tried to call him, but he didn't answer once. What if he did drop out of school? Right after school, Kura finally told the others what really happened the other night with the Aoshiba students.

"You need to tell Yamaguchi what really happened." Hinako said.

"No way!" Kura argued. "Why should I tell a teacher about it?"

"Because she is the only one who believes in us!" Izumi argued with him. "If you don't tell her, then Hinako and I will tell her ourselves and we make sure to put the blame on you!"

"Alright, alright!" Kura sighed. "I'll do it!"

They went to the classroom to find Yamaguchi staring at Ichi's desk.

"What's wrong guys?" Yamaguchi asked as he looked up at them. The girls pushed Kura forward.

"Ichi…" He began to explain. "He hit that guy from Aoshiba for my sake. No matter what that guy said Ichi just took it. But...I got upset and got ready to hit him."

"I see." Yamaguchi nodded in understanding.

"Ichi...He's that kind of guy." Ren said softly.

"That's all I wanted to say. See ya." Kura said, wanting to get out of there, fast.

As they started to leave, but Yamaguchi stopped them.

"You guys. You've got some good points, don't you?"

"Shut up!" Kura yelled as he tries to hide a smile.

The next day Ichi still didn't come to school. Kura texted him saying they were waiting. The door slid open, but sadly it wasn't Ichi. It was actually Isoge, along with his three friends, and they were wrapped up in bandages. They made their way to the group of seven and began talking to Ren and Yamato. They told them how they end up like that, and Ichi's reaction when he saw them.

"He said Takasugi?" Ren asked.

"Yeah." Isoge nodded.

"It was those Aoshiba bastards from before." Kura reminded them.

"Those Aoshiba guys, screwing around like that." Ren growled.

"Yamato, what should we do?" Honjo asked. "Are you just going to leave it like this?"

As they turned to Yamato, who looked really scary at that very moment.

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

Ren jumped up and left along with Yamato, and no matter where the two leaders of Class 3-D go, the rest of the class will follow. They looked all over for Ichi and that Aoshiba bastard. Then Izumi thought of a location. "I think I know where they are." She said. "Do you remember, Hinako?"

"Oh, yeah." Hinako said. "I remember there's a warehouse behind Aoshiba Academy, it's usual the perfect place to have a fight in private."

"How do you know?" Ren asked, as he and Yamato looked curious.

"Hinako and I used to fight old rival gangs in there when we were first years." Izumi explained.

"I see." Ren replied.

They ran all the way there, without even stopping. When they got there, they saw seven Aoshiba students circling a badly beaten Ichi with metal pipes in their hands.

"That's enough!" Hinako shouted, getting their attention.

"You guys…" Ichi said weakly.

The 3-D boys picked up pieces of wood, pipes and anything else they could use as a weapon. Expect for the two girls. They just stood in the very back of the warehouse.

"You bastards!" Yamato yelled out. "You've treated our friends so nicely."

"I hope you're prepared." Ren threatened.

The Aoshiba students threw their weapons to the ground confusing the 3-D boys and girls.

"If you want to hit us then hit us." Takasugi said. "But we'll run to the police. When we do, it's you that will be in trouble. You might all be expelled, huh? Maybe worse than expelled."

"Shut up!" Kamiya demanded.

"Who cares about expulsion!" Honjo shouted as he hit the ground with his weapon.

"If that's the case, then we'll tell the police that you're behind the serial beatings!" Kura yelled out, getting yells in agreement.

Suddenly the Aoshiba students laughed. "Do what you want. But you know, I wonder who the world and the police will believe? Adults aren't in the habit of believing you guys, are they? No one will believe anything trash like you will say."

"I don't like the sound of this…" Izumi whispered.

"Mm…" Hinako nodded. "I wish Yamaguchi was here right now."

"Damn you!"

The 3-D boys went to hit them, but a voice stopped them like always.

"I'd believe it!"

They all turned to see Yamaguchi standing at the doorway of the warehouse.

"Yamaguchi…" Hinako mumbled as she smiled.

"Good timing…" Izumi mumbled, and she smiled as well.

Yamaguchi walked towards them with the girls following her to the front, she began to get in her serious mode.

"Who are you?" Takasugi raised an eyebrow.

"Me? I'm their homeroom teacher." She simply stated.

"Huh?"

She walked to the front of the boys, so she was between them and the Aoshiba bastards. "Don't do anything." She said.

"Don't interfere!" Yamato demanded.

Yamaguchi turned to the boys sharply. "You still don't understand, do you? If you start something here, you'll sink to the same level as these guys!"

"Same level...that hurts a bit." Takasugi said, smugly.

She turned back to them then looked at the metal pipes on the ground. "Are you elite students playing with such things?"

Takasugi sighed. "Unlike these guys' fighting, we are cleaning up the world. If we continue like this, we'll be winners. But these guys have no value to society. These guys have no future."

"Damn you!" Ren shouted as his temper reached its peak, but Izumi held out a hand stopping him before he could take another step forward. He looked at her stunned but backed up a moment later.

"Of course, they do!" Yamaguchi yelled out. "True, society looks at these guys as the bottom of the barrel. They can't study and only cause problems. They are guys who, before even trying, quickly say "whatever" or "what a pain." But you know. Everyone, just like you, has lots of possibility. They just haven't taken that first step. They have the same future as you. Once they take that step, they can start to change!"

After a short pause, Yamato tossed his weapon to the ground followed by Ren and then the rest of Class 3-D followed suit shocking both the girls and the Aoshiba students. After hearing the last weapon hit the floor, Yamaguchi continued to speak.

"To judge people's worth by their academic ability alone, isn't that the worse thing you can do as a human being?" She asked. "No matter what sort of high and mighty reason you give, what you are doing is a full-fledged crime."

In panic, Takasugi reached down and picked up the pipe laying between them and held it with both hands. "Shut up!" He shouted. "You stupid Akadou teacher!" He swung the pipe high causing everyone to become alert, but Yamaguchi simply scuffed raising her hand and catching the metal before it could even come close to her head.

"Guys like you who don't understand people's feelings or pain...have no right to determine people's worth!" She gave him a hard shove as he tumbled to the ground. She tossed the pipe to the side and stared down at Takasugi. "You guys can start over too!" Takasugi gaped at her before he got up to his feet and ran off with his friends not far behind him.

After that, Class 3-D ran up to Ichi. Ren and Yamato stood him up and supported him. The girls laughed a little when Yamato poked a scratch on Ichi's face making him flinch and Kura swat his hand away. They were all back where they belonged, together.

"You got us worried." They turned their attention to Yamaguchi. "Well done guys, for not starting anything."

"Someone stopped us like mad, that's all." Yamato mumbled.

"You got that right." Hinako nodded. "Someone whose own words cut deep, deeper than a sharp blade of a knife."

"That means you've made progress by one step." Yankumi said as she looked at them proudly. "Don't forget. You guys can change and have lots of possibilities. You can make your own future. So have more confidence in yourselves. Right, Ichimura?"

On their way back to the school, Ichi stopped them.

"Hey." They all turned to him. "The sports competition, let's participate. I don't want to keep feeling bad like this. I don't want to give up before I even try. You don't know until you try."

"I'm in!" Ren announced.

"Eh? You're in?" Honjo joked.

"Me too." Kura said as he jumped a little.

"I guess I'll do it too." Kamiya said as he looked at the sky.

Then the rest of Class 3-D agreed. "Me too!"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

"Me too!"

"Geez…no choice, huh?" Yamato said sarcastically.

"Even though the two of us are not allowed in the competition, I promise that we will cheer you guys on!" Izumi stated as she and Hinako both raised their hands.

"Nani?! Can you imagine Hina-chan and Mi-chan in cheerleader outfits?" Kamiya said.

"Hina-chan?" Hinako raised an eyebrow.

"Mi-chan?" Izumi looked at Kamiya with a puzzled look.

"Those are your new nicknames." Kamiya stated. "What do you think?"

"They do sound a little catchy." Izumi said.

"Yeah…they do…" Hinako said.

After a short pause, the girls look at Kamiya.

"We love them!" They smiled.

"Great!" Kamiya smiled. "By the way, if I made you two some cheerleader outfits? Would you wear them while we're playing rugby?"

Suddenly both the girls' expressions turned sour. "You perv!" Hinako yelled out as she and Izumi attack him. Hinako put Kamiya in a head-lock. Kamiya started laughing while Izumi was tickling his stomach. Class 3-D and Yamaguchi all laughed themselves as the girls let Kamiya go.

"Alright, let's do this!" Yamaguchi cheered. "Fight-ohhhh. Oh!"

The girls stayed by Yamaguchi as they watched the 3-D boys played rugby. They were laughing and having a great time.

"That's the way!" Yankumi cheered.

"Here you go, Yankumi." Ichi threw Yamaguchi the ball.

"You…just called her Yankumi." Izumi said with a shocking look.

"What about it?" He laughed.

"We can call her that as many times as she wants." Kura added as the rest of the class agreed. "Right, Yankumi?"

"Alright everyone!" Yamaguchi pointed out to the distance. "We're going to race into the sunset! Let's go!"

"Huh?"

"Hurry up and come on!" She encouraged.

"There's no sunset." Yamato and Ren laughed.

They all smiled before running after Yankumi.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **In this chapter, Kamiya gives Hinako and Izumi some nicknames, Hina-chan and Mi-chan. Mi comes from Izumi while Hina comes from Hinako.**

 **Also, throughout this fanfic, I will try to create a lot of Ren X Izumi moments and some Yamato X Hinako moments. Wish me luck! Because I'm gonna need it…**

 **Next chapter, there will be a Ren and Izumi moment!**

 **Thank you for reading! Be comment or review! I'll try to answer to individual comments as much as I can!**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **-Chan: is a suffix added to names to refer to younger children or girls.**

 **Takoyaki are bits of octopus cooked into batter and shaped into little balls.**

 **Japanese High Schools Sports Festival called Undokai in Japanese, is usually held on Saturday or Sunday in which they would like to show their parents and friends, within their class of physical education, which often includes tamaire, performances by the school band and presentations by various school clubs as well as individual and group competitive events. These practices, and the sports days themselves, normally take place on the schools' fields, which provide little relief from the heat and sun. Some schools have responded by scheduling their sports days during cooler months and by encouraging their students to drink water regularly. Currently, the event occurs most often in the autumn (September/October), or in the spring (May/June). In primary schools in Hokkaido, the event is usually held between the later part of May and the earlier part of June.**


	8. Episode 4

Episode 4: A Brother and Sister's Bond of Tears

It's been a few days since the sports competition ended, and everything in Class 3-D seemed to be pretty normal. The only strange thing was Ren, who has been falling asleep in class for the last few days. As for everyone else in 3-D, they're planning to celebrate, but first things first, they need to find a place to have their party. Luckily the girls brought magazines of the latest restaurants and hang out spots in the area and right now they're all looking through them.

"Check this out, Yamato! Which one should we go to? What should we do?" Honjo asked as he handed Yamato to magazine, which is full of party places.

"This might be good." Yamato smiled as he pointed to one place in the magazine.

"I think so too." Hinako added as she smiled.

The rest of the class cheered.

Ichi twirled the rugby ball in his hands. "This is to celebrate the end of the sports competition, right?"

"Let's party!" Kura cheered.

"We've got to have karaoke!" Kamiya suggested.

The class cheered.

"All you can drink and eat!" Izumi suggested as the class cheered even louder.

"That would be bad…" Yankumi said.

Class 3-D jumped back at her sudden appearance.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Yamato asked hesitantly.

"That would play right into the head teacher's hands!" Yankumi stated. "Listen up. This week is 'eliminate delinquency' and-" But of course she couldn't finish her words.

"Hey!" Kamiya let out a shout. "Why are you alright?"

"Huh?"

"You didn't come in from over there, did you?" Izumi asked as she pointed to the back entry of the class.

"Yeah, I did." Yamaguchi nodded.

"Darn!" The 3-D boys yelled out in anger and anguish at this fact peaking their teacher's curiosity.

The girls both laughed when they saw how dramatic the boys were being just because she didn't fall for their little trick. "Huh?" Yamaguchi questioned. "Is there something over there?"

But before anyone could even answer, someone slid open the door. The trap was sprung and in a cloud of white chalk the board eraser dropped from where it was once wedged and landed directly atop the head of a very pretty young woman. Silence followed in the classroom as everyone stared in awe at the woman with a not so pleased look on her face.

"Who are you?" Yankumi asked the question everyone wanted to know but the woman in her well-fitting green dress simply waved her hand in front of her face trying to free herself of the chalk infested air and keep from breathing it in but eventually she did and so placed a hand in front of her mouth and coughed loudly. Izumi looked to the side of her as the desk beside her shifted and it seems that the woman's coughs appeared to wake Ren up from his nap. He groggily raised his head from his desk and blinked his eyes sleepily before looking at the woman that had so rudely woken him from his deep slumber. Instead of looking with curiosity like the rest of the class was Ren stumbled out of his seat with wide eyes when he saw this woman.

"Sis!" Ren yelled out startled.

"Sis?!" The rest of the class yelled out, while the girls gasped.

Izumi whipping her head from Ren to the young woman standing in the doorway. She still looked very displease as she tried to shake chalk dust out of her hair.

"So that means, you're Kazama's older sister?" Yankumi questioned the woman. After a few more shakes of her hair, she nodded her head.

"Eh?!" The whole class yelled out, including the girls.

"I wonder why Ren's older sister is here?" Izumi whispered to Hinako.

"Guess we'll have to find out." Hinako replied as she and Izumi trailed after their classmates while they hurried down the hall after Yankumi, Ren and his sister to the staff room. The girls and Yamato stood inside the office by the door while the rest of the class bunched up in the doorway staring at Ren's sister. "She sure is pretty." The 3-D boys said.

"You guys." Yamato said as he rolled his eyes.

"Boys…" Hinako added, as Izumi nodded in agreement.

Ren's older sister introduced as Kazama Kaoruko, and she explained that she was a dentist assistant by day and by night she was a hostess. Kaoruko also explain that they didn't have any parents, so she had to work two jobs, so they could eat. Yamaguchi thought that was really tough for them. Less than a second later, Sawatari casually walks into the staff room.

"Ah, now what, Kazama? Did you do something again?" He asked as he walked up to the group of three.

Yamaguchi stood up. "Head Teacher, Kazama's older sister has come to visit." Kaoruko bowed to him when she was being introduced.

"Kazama's sister?" He said, looking at Kaoruko curiously and then his face lit up. "Sara-chan!"

Kaoruko looked at him and smiled. "Goro-chan!"

"Goro-chan?!" Sawatari looked at us then around before focusing his attention on Kaoruko.

"Sara-chan, you're Kazama's older sister?" He asked.

"You're a teacher at this school?" She asked.

"Yes." Sawatari nodded.

"Thank you for always looking after my little brother." Kaoruko bowed.

"No problem, he's a cheerful and energetic young man." He muttered gaining confused and curious looks from everyone in the staff room and at the doorway. "Take your time…"

As he scuttled to the back of the room, Izumi turned to Yamato and Hinako. "Sounds like he's a regular…"

Both of them covered their mouths trying not to laugh at all. The rest of the class started to snicker. They turned their attention back to Kaoruko when she sat back down turning her focus to her brother before slamming an envelope onto the table that had money in it.

"Ren, what is this about?" She demanded. Ren shifted in his seat when he saw that envelope.

"Why did you go into my room?" Ren asked.

"What's up with this money?" Kaoruko demanded again ignoring Ren's question. "You've been coming home late."

"It's money I earned at my part-time job." He stated.

"Part-time job?"

Sawatari shot out of his seat and stormed over. "Part-time jobs are prohibited at our school!"

Kaoruko quickly stood up and bowed to him. "I'm sorry."

"No problem at all." Sawatari said as he quickly went soft again. "Every family has their own circumstances."

"Looks like "Goro-chan" is being whipped by Ren sister…" Hinako remarked with a hint of amusement from Yamato before they looked back to the scene at hand.

"I'm very sorry. I'll make hime quit right away." Kaoruko stated.

"Who's going to quit?" Ren barked while sending his sister a glare before leaning back leisurely in his chair. "I'm going to make and save money so I can move out and live on my own."

"Huh?"

"I can't continue to rely on my sister." Ren explained.

"Kazama, what are you saying to Sara-chan…I mean your sister?"

"Shut up!" Ren snapped at the man who easily snapped back.

"What's with that language?"

"You got a problem?" Ren asked as he gave his signature smile. "Goro-chan…"

"Kazama…you…"

Ren stood and grabbed Sawatari's jacket. Yankumi and the other teachers separated the two. Sawatari called Ren a punk making Ren even more mad. Ren threw Yankumi off him sending her into the table. She was about to scold him when Kaoruko slammed her hand down. Silence came into the room when she unexpectedly slammed her hand against the table loudly.

"Cut it out!" She scolded darkly at her brother. "Live alone? You can't do anything on your own! Don't make me laugh!"

"Kowai…" Izumi whispered into the silence with both Yamato and Hinako nodding.

"Sara-chan, were you like that?" Sawatari asked hesitantly.

Kaoruko gasped when she realize her outburst and quickly went back to her sweet self. "I'm sorry. It sort of came out…"

Later that day after school, the gang of eight was going to play some pool for a few hours it gets dark outside. However, they start hoofing because some of the teachers at Akadou will be on partol tonight. As soon as they set foot out of their usual hang out spot, Izumi spotted Yajima-sensei, then he spotted her with the rest of the gang and the chase was on. The girls were having a blast with the boys, they always did when this week comes around because it was fun running away from those stupid teachers. Izumi was in the lead of the group. She darts around a corner, and leaps over a row of trash bins like she was a member of the track team.

"Hurry up, guys! He's gonna catch us!" Izumi called out over her shoulder, looking back at Hinako and the six boys as they tried to keep up with Izumi.

"Wait up!" Kura shouted out as he panted from the far back of the line; he's always the slow one of the group when it comes to running. Yamato was right behind Hinako grinning as he looked at her with a lot of amusement.

"You guys are so slow!" Izumi giggled as she was getting ready to run out into one of the main streets but just when she was about to, Ren reached out and quickly yanked the back of her blazer.

"Take cover!" Ren shouted. Before Izumi could realize it, the group of eight huddle against the nearest wall and held their breaths as they watched Head Teacher Sawatari along with a few other male teachers chasing after a large group of their classmates in a collection of screams and yells. The eight waited for a while as they held their breaths, before they all sighed with relief.

"Man, that was close!" Izumi said as she released her breath that she's been holding and step out of Ren's grasp. The rest of the group cheered at the fact they didn't get caught and moved to go about their way again but then Ren stops them.

"I've got to work now." He told them hastily. "I'll see you later!"

The girls watch Ren as he took off running while the rest of the boys yelled for him to do his best.

"Speaking of…" Yamato spoke up. "I wonder what this job is…"

"Who knows…"

The very next day, Honjo and Kamiya found out about Ren's job after listening to a conversation between Ren and Yamaguchi.

"A HOST CLUB?!" Kura screamed out loudly before the others swatted him for being so loud, they didn't want the rest of the class to know.

Of course, they didn't know for sure _if_ Ren was actually working at a host club, after all he denied Yankumi's assumptions, but it was all very suspicious.

"The job Ren went to was at a host club?" Ichi questioned, while Honjo and Kamiya both nodded their heads.

The girls didn't want to believe it, but Honjo and Kamiya were their friends, and they would never lie to each other about things that they heard or saw. So, it must be true!

"Isn't that bad?" Yamato voiced, Honjo nodded slowly looking over his shoulder as did the girls. They saw Ren at his desk, fast asleep.

"It's bad." Honjo remarked. "Ren has women all over him every night."

"Huh?" Yamato said, sounding in doubt. Izumi froze, and Hinako just rolled their eyes.

"Damn that guy!" Kura growled as the others, expect for Yamato, nodded their heads in agreement and frustration, they wanted to be fawned over by hot older women too!

' _Is that what these idiots are thinking about?_ ' Hinako thought to herself.

"Why is that the first thing you guys focus on?" Yamato questioned, being the only one thinking clearly, but it was too late.

The four boys were staring off into space, Yamato could only imagine what kind of fantasy they were playing out in their heads right now as they openly drooled and in union muttered about how great it would be…but they're forgetting one little thing…

"What happened to talking about Ren?" Yamato muttered, scratching his head as he stared as his spaced-out friends.

"Where did Izumi go?" Hinako questioned, as she noticed Izumi wasn't standing next to her. Yamato looked over his shoulder and found Izumi leaning on Ren's desk. If this was an anime, an ominous cloud of violent hate would be swirling around Izumi and she would have those scary demon eyes and veins all over her person.

"Found her." Yamato said as Hinako looks toward his direction.

"Ren." Izumi growled darkly. "How dare you take advantage of hot older women! You'll pay!"

"Oh no…she's gone too." Yamato said as he and Hinako both sighed at this.

"These guys are hopeless…" Hinako muttered as Yamato nodded in agreement.

Then the two looked at Ren with curiosity. What was Ren doing working at a host club anyway?

Well, after Izumi and the four boys got their acts together, the group of seven decided to go and find out for themselves to see _if_ Ren was working at a host club. Tonight, they're infiltrate to the host club called Sweet Castle…

Later right after school, the seven went home and changed into proper clothes. The boys wore very casual clothes, but the girls decided to dress up a little bit.

Izumi wore a lavender frilled blouse with ivory jacquard pattern cropped pants and a pair of yellow slip on athletic shoes. Izumi fix up her hair too.

As for Hinako's outfit, she wore a black gingham check dress with a star pattern along with a short sleeve mint cardigan that has a star as the one-point button and a pair of white sneakers.

The girls met up with the boys right outside of the host club. When the boys saw them, all their jaws just dropped. "Close them up boys, or you'll catch flies." Izumi stated.

It's like they've never seen the girls wearing dresses before. When Yamato saw Hinako, he didn't know what to say. He was a little bit speechless.

"What are you wearing?" Yamato asked, looking completely speechless.

"You don't like it?" Hinako asked, looking at her dress with disappointment.

"No, that's not what I meant…" Yamato said, worried about hurting her feelings. "I'm sorry I…I think you look great."

"Really?" Hinako shows a little smile.

"Yes." Yamato nodded. "Now come on, let's get going." He said, walking inside Sweet Castle with Hinako following him.

When they sneak in, every single host that they pasted by would stop and try to have the girls request them. But it was weird because every time they request Hinako, they would look behind her and then they quickly walk away with frightening look, but when Hinako looked over her shoulder to what was behind her, she only saw Yamato in front of the group, who's looking in a different direction. Despite that, the group of seven have made their way through the club.

However, one of the hosts noticed them they looked a bit too young to be at his host club and then he began to push the seven to the front door.

"It's a bit too early for a high schooler to want to become a host!" He told the boys and despite their yells in protest they were easily brushed off and pushed away.

"Isn't it what I told you guys?" Hinako nagged at the boys, and she was surprised to hear Yamato, who stood beside her and said the very same thing.

"You guys?!"

"Huh?" The seven turned to see Yankumi, who stood there looking very stunned at them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked them.

Before they could even answer, they heard a named that catch their attention.

"Kazama, I'm leaving this here."

"Kazama?" Yankumi tilted her head.

They glanced down the hall where that voice came from. At the very end of the hall was a kitchen and there was Ren washing dishes with great haste, so it was true that Kazama Ren was working in a host club…but they didn't expect him to be washing dishes in the kitchen.

Izumi didn't know what to say. She was a little bit speechless.

"Kazama!" Yankumi's voice caught Ren's attention briefly but it was the united call of his name by his friends that kept it. "Ren!"

"You guys?!" Ren looked at them all in confusion, but then it quickly turned to embarrassment.

Then the same guy who was pushing the group of seven towards the door walks up. "Kazama, do you know these guys?"

"Not really…" Ren said as he was trying to cover up the fact that he was a high schooler. But he ended up getting fired anyway.

"Man... I 'believe that I lost that job in only a week." Ren complained.

"Sorry Ren, it was our fault." Ichi put his hands together.

"It's because you were faking your age while working." Yamaguchi scolded Ren who simply glared at her before looking away.

"My dream of being popular with girls!" Honjo wailed out and the others groaned with him.

"You guys…" Yamato chuckled at the stupidity of his friends; he told them that they wouldn't be able to get jobs there. Hinako just rolled her eyes and Izumi just chuckled as well.

"Kazama. You shouldn't worry your sister so much."

"It doesn't have anything to do with her." Ren grumbled in annoyance.

"Of course it does!" Yankumi scuffed but Ren quickly stood up and glared darkly at her.

"I'm sick of talking about her!" He barked before snatching up his bags and before storming out of the place, he tells his friends bye. "Ja ne."

"Ren…" Izumi said as she watched him leave with worry.

The next morning, Izumi walked into class thinking that everything was going to be back to normal today, but she was wrong. Because she learns that Ren is possibility of expulsion for deliberately hitting a police officer. Right now, Ren is in the office receiving his punishment. Nothing good would come out of this, none at all.

"You sure have done something unbelievable!" Head teacher Sawatari's usually upset voice boomed this morning and normally he could be ignored but today he couldn't be because the chairman stood beside him and Ren with his sister stood before them.

"You again?" The Chairman didn't look pleased at all…well not that she ever did but today especially.

"I'm sorry." Yankumi apologized and bowed as did Ren's sister.

"This time will be tough even for Yamaguchi-sensei." Takano-sensei muttered to Baba.

"Yamaguchi-sensei…" Baba-sensei muttered.

"Fortunately, the police decided not to make a case out of it." Yajima-sensei remarked, they should be glad the police didn't make a case out of it.

"Even so it's still a problem!" Sawatari replied to Yajima. "It's a fact that Kazama committed an offense!"

"As far as the school is concerned, we need to need to sternly punish Kazama-kun." The Chairman said. That made everyone in the room look at the woman in a weary way, they all knew what she meant for she was the strictest of women when it came to disciplining students.

"You don't mean…expulsion?" Ren's sister said it as the chairman nodded.

"It would be best to be prepared for that."

Ren looked annoyed about that and didn't say a word.

"Chairman!" Yamaguchi said as Ren's sister stepped forward and bowed to the chairman.

"Please. Please don't expel Ren." She said.

"Cut it out. It's pathetic." He snapped at her.

She turned to her brother with a pleading look. "You beg them too!"

"Like I'd bow my head to a teacher."

"At this rate you'll be expelled!"

"Like I care about that!" Ren snapped at his sister. "It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal!" She insisted but once again Ren refuse to.

"It's my life! It has nothing to do with you." Ren shouted at her. Suddenly his sister responded with a sharp smack across his face. The whole room was stunned when they saw that.

Ren didn't say anything, he just kept his mouth shut and before anyone could stop him he turned and ran out of the room. The chairman soon left along with Head Teacher Sawatari and Yajima-sensei. Ren's sister sighed turning to the rest of the staff in the room sullenly.

"I'm not good, am I?" She muttered. "I couldn't protect Ren…"

"Huh?" Yamaguchi said as she looked at her.

"I used to do whatever I wanted. I always worried my mom. But when she died…I realized that he only had me to lean on. The thought really killed me." The crumbling woman took in a deep breath and sighed as she recalled this memory from her past and Ren's. "I had to straightened myself out for Ren. I decided to protect him."

"Is that so?" Yankumi asked as Kaoruko nodded. "Before I knew it, Ren had become my motivation. I've been able to do my best. But…" She hung her head for a second. "I'll go look for that idiot." She smiled fondly at Yamaguchi before she bowed and hurried out of the office and was off looking for her little brother.

Minutes later, the rest of Class 3-D walked in.

"You guys…" Yamaguchi said, with a surprised look.

"Is Ren going to be expelled?" Yamato asked.

"Just because he hit him, he's going to be expelled?!" Honjo added.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Kamiya asked as the rest of the class shouted.

"He started it." Yamaguchi stated. "He can't be forgiven that easily."

"What did Ren say?" Yamato asked.

"I don't care if I'm expelled…" Yamaguchi replied.

"Why?" Hinako asked. "He has to care!"

"It's no joking matter!" Izumi added.

"Are you going to abandon Ren?" Kura asked Yankumi.

Yamaguchi looks at Kura. "I'm not going to abandon him. I'll search for him and make him apologize to the chairman. It'll be okay…" She turns towards Takano-sensei and Baba-sensei. "I'm sorry, can I leave these guys to you?"

"Yes." Baba-sensei said as he and Takano-sensei nodded. When that said, Yamaguchi run out of the office to look for Ren. Of course, if Ren was wandering around town like this there was no doubt that his friends go out and look for him as well. Ichi and Kura checked at the arcade. Yamato, Hinako, Honjo, and Kamiya went to their usual hang out place to see if he was there, but he wasn't. As for Izumi, she looked for Ren, alone.

Meanwhile, Ren was busy bruiting over the whole situation. He was so mad, but he didn't care that he was going to be expelled, he didn't care at all! He was so pissed off that he yelled out in anger and kicked over some trash bin and watched as it tumbled down the street stopping at someone's feet. That someone was a group of thugs. Ren looked up in shock as one of the guys kicked the bin out of his way.

"What are you doing, punk?" He snarled out.

When Izumi about to around a corner, she nearly ran into a frantic woman. The two of them stumbled out of one another's way ready to apologize for the almost crash but as the woman looked down the path and her eyes grew wide.

"Ren!" She spoke in a panic making Izumi look back at the thugs who were dragging Ren away. She looked back at the woman. It was Ren's sister.

"Are you Ren's…sister?" The woman nodded before her attention was back on her little brother.

"Come on!" She said, suddenly taking Izumi's wrist and they run after the thugs and her brother. By the time they had caught up with them, they were in one of the tunnels nearby and the three thugs were ganging up on the Akadou boy and giving him a run for his money. Ren's sister, Kaoruko, yelped in horror before charging into the fray without a flinch of fear leaving Izumi stand outside of the tunnel in a panic. The thugs threw Kaoruko away making her stumble back and Izumi yelp as well. Now would be a good time to call Hinako, she'd be down here in a heartbeat.

"Hey there, Izumi?" Hinako asked as she answered her phone. "Where are you?"

"Hinako!" Izumi yelled into her cell phone. "You have come down here quick!"

"Where at?"

Izumi kept her eyes on the fight as Kaoruko jumped back into the fray and tried once again to pry the attackers off her brother, this time she succeeded by throwing all three of them away at once and crouching over Ren.

"We're near Shirokin Park inside a tunnel." Izumi said into the phone. "Three thugs are ganging up on Ren!"

"Nani?!" Hinako shouted into the phone, but it was whisper in comparison to fight at hand.

"His sister is trying to break up the fight but-" Suddenly out of the blue, one of the fed-up thugs yanked Kaoruko from the fray and struck her so hard as she fell onto the concrete Izumi yelped when she saw this. "Hinako, please hurry!"

"Ok, we're on our way right now!" Hinako said as she hung up the phone. With that, Izumi snapped her phone shut and stared with horror as two of the guys held both of Ren's arms and kept him still while their leader moved away from Kaoruko balling his hand into a round fist. He was going to knock Ren out!

"No! Stop!" Izumi shouted as she drops her bag and phone, running into the tunnel and launched herself onto the angry thug gripping his fist with everything in her.

"Izumi!" Ren snarled staring at her in a shock that everyone else did. "What are you doing here?"

Izumi didn't say anything. She just ignored him stumbling about as the guy tried to throw her off. "You've made your point!" Izumi grunted to the thug. "He's really sorry, just let him go please!" The leader of the thugs was now more agitate than before gripped on the girl's blazer and then he yanked her until she was on her toes.

"Stay out of my way!" He yelled at her and just like that Izumi was seeing that round fist coming towards her face.

Izumi heard Ren yelling for her as she shut her eyes tight, expecting a lot of pain that was coming to her, but all she felt was the wind from the man's swing blow into her face and then nothing happened. Before she knew it, she was being dropped on her butt by the guy. Izumi opened her eyes back up and she was shocked to see Yamaguchi standing behind her clenching the fist that was meant for her face tightly. The two holding Ren dropped him and back away from her as she appeared to have just appeared clean out of nowhere. Izumi watched with shock as Yamaguchi threw him with ease making him stumble away and join his friends.

"Who are you?" One of the thugs barked at the teacher while she stepped in between him and Kazama, Kaoruko and Izumi. Yamaguchi yanked her hair free from its pigtails and then she tossed her glasses aside. Her face was now in serious mode.

"I'm his homeroom teacher." She simply said.

"A teacher?"

"Are you okay?" A voice said as Izumi felt a hand rested on her shoulder. She looked behind and that it saw Ren's sister, Kaoruko. Izumi slowly nodded her head and let Kaoruko help her up, back on her feet before she moved to check on Ren. Izumi turned back to Yamaguchi.

"You even hit a woman?" Yankumi was slowly approaching the three men. "You sure are scum!" Yankumi nearly yelled out.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" One of the thugs said before swinging at Yankumi.

The fight was on. She dodged his fist with ease. She then made two hit the ground. The leader swung, but Yankumi was faster. She stopped her hand from hitting the leader centimeters from his face scaring the shit out of him.

"If you want to get serious, I'll take you on!" She yelled.

"Let's get out of here!" The thug leader said as he and his buddies took off running from her in fear like the cowards they were.

Just as they ran out of the tunnel, Hinako and the boys showed up.

"Ren!" Yamato was the first to spot them. "Are you okay?"

All of their heads turned and focus on the beaten and battered Ren, Izumi joined up with the others as they all ran to Ren see how he was doing. They gathered Ren up and quickly moved him out the tunnel and away from the area. The boys let him down easy and he was all settled, comfy. Izumi and Hinako watched as the boys tore into him.

"We were searching for you." Hinako said.

"What are you doing when you might get expelled?" Yamato scolded at his friend.

"My bad." Ren grumbled.

"Kazama. Let's go back to school. Let's apologize to the chairman, and get her to forgive you." Yankumi said as she was trying to convince him.

Kaoruko returned to them and kneeled down before Ren, she was holding a wet handkerchief to his bleeding lip.

"Are you okay?" She asked gently.

Ren quickly swatted her hand away from him. "Don't make me look bad!" He yelled at his sister getting to his feet and stomping away creating distances between everyone and himself. "Don't worry about me anymore. I've decided to live on my own."

"What are you talking about, Ren?" Izumi asked sternly. "You should be grateful to have her."

"This has nothing to do with you, Izumi!" He yelled at her before turning to Kaoruko. "Don't you think that it'd be better if I was gone?!"

"Don't be stupid!" All heads turn to Izumi. "Do you think you've been going through all these years by yourself? What a joke!"

"Izumi…" Hinako placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, but she quickly shrugged it off. She spoke to Ren as if she were speaking to him right here and now.

"That woman right there has been raising a good-for-nothing punk like you and looked after you for years until now!" Izumi pointed to Kaoruko as the woman slowly stood up straight. "She threw herself into that fight to save you and she risked getting hurt and you're asking her if she thinks her life would be better without you?! Why would she try and save you if she thought that way?! No one does that Ren! Not even family!" Izumi confidently attest to that fact. "You did the same thing for me! When we were in the warehouse fighting, you shielded me the whole entire time with your own body. When I was badly hurt and bursting into tears, you were there to comfort me. And that very moment, you made a promise to me, that you would protect me no matter what! You really meant it, didn't you?" Ren felt dumbfounded as he opened his mouth, but there was no words to reply. He didn't know what to say at all.

Then Yamaguchi steps in.

"Kazama, do you why the cop dropped the fact that you hit him?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"It's because your sister begged him to." Ren's eyes widen a little in realization. "For _your_ sake, she kept bowing and bowing. Listen well, Kazama. Family might be something you take for granted. But it's not. You'll have to go separate ways someday. You understand, don't you? From your experience. So, till then, no matter how much of a pain or a burden it might be, you've got to support each other! You too, you have to protect your sister, too."

Ren looked from Yankumi to Kaoruko and then back to Yankumi.

"I'm not good enough to do that."

"Yes, you are!" Izumi yelled out as she jumps in and stared at Ren. "Only you can do that! You're her brother! You know your sister in ways that no one else does or ever will!" Then, Izumi turned to his sister. "Tell him!" Izumi might not know Kaoruko well, she only met her a short while ago, but she knows this stubborn boy was the only family to her and she wanted to do anything to make him happy, to give him the good life. To see him happy was probably brought her the best joy that no matter what she did. "Tell him how you _really_ feel, he's here right here and now, then tell him how you feel before you can't reach him anymore!"

"Ren…" He turned his attention to his sister. "To me, you're my only family… You're all I have left in this world." Izumi sighed in relief, finally it came out, the sibling connection with Kaoruko's simple words. At that moment, Ren looked at his hand. His eyes showed that he was remembering something. Without a single word, Ren took off running in full speed.

"Kazama!" Yamaguchi yelled after him. But he kept on running.

"Ren!" Kaoruko looked at the group before she followed her little brother.

Izumi stay behind watching as they all ran after Ren. Hinako stood beside her.

"Where do you think he's going?" Hinako asked curiously earning a snort from Izumi.

"That's a dumb question." Izumi remarked. The two best friends looked at one another with sideways grins. "Where do you think?" She asked.

"Shall we follow them?" Hinako chuckled out as Izumi nodded. Together the two of them broke into a jog after the group and on their way to Akadou where they knew the boy had to be going to.

When Ren got inside the school, he stopped right in front of Sawatari and Chairman Akagi. Yamaguchi, Kaoruko and the boys stopped and watched. As the girls walked in and stood behind the boys, Sawatari stepped up in front of Ren.

"What do you want?" He asked. "Explusion is…something the chairman decided."

After swallowing his pride, Ren bowed his head shocking everyone, expect for Izumi. Then he stood up straight and looked the chairman right in the eye.

"For hitting the policeman…and causing trouble to the school…I sincerely regret it. I…don't want to quit school." He admitted.

"You committed a grave mistake. Making you take responsibility for that is the school's responsibility." Chairman Akagi said, making Ren's heart sank.

"I…thought that school didn't matter. But now, now…" Ren took a deep breath. "I really want to graduate. For my sister's sake. If I don't straighten out…I can't protect them. Please don't expel me. Please."

Ren bowed his head again. Kaoruko followed. The chairman began to walk past Ren but then paused.

"Be grateful to your sister…" She said before walking away.

"Chairman." Sawatari called out making her stop again. "What about Kazama's expulsion…"

"Head Teacher Sawatari."

"Hai?"

"We'll let it go this time." She said before walking again. After hearing that, Ren let the tears fall.

"Thank you!" Ren said as he bowed again, Sawatari walked after the chairman. After he left, the boys cheered. Including the girls.

"Woohoo!"

They all, except Kaoruko and Yankumi, circled Ren.

"You were so cool!" Honjo said, pulling on Ren's jacket playfully.

"You're crying!" Kura pointed out.

"He is crying!" Izumi laughed.

When everyone got outside on the school grounds, Ren and Kaoruko exchanged a few words to each other.

"Ren, could you stay with me a bit longer?" Kaoruko asked.

"Huh?"

"I don't have a good eye for men. And I can't get rid of lousy ones by myself." She stated. "Also, when you're around, it makes me kind of happy."

She smiled slightly at Ren before he was taking in a breath and sighing.

"Geez…I guess I don't have a choice…" He said. "Um, I'm sorry, for worrying you."

Suddenly Kaoruko felt like she was going to cry.

"Why are you crying?" Ren said as he pushed her.

"Shut up. I'm not crying!" Kaoruko smiled running after Ren.

"You were totally crying." Ren laughed running from Kaoruko.

"I wasn't!" She shouted.

From watching the sweet sibling exchange, Yankumi sniffed and began to whip her eyes. The boys couldn't help but make fun of her.

"Hey, are you crying too?" Kura laughed. "She is!"

"Loser!" Kamiya pointed at her.

"It's just sweat." Yankumi said.

"Geez, Yankumi. You're such a whip!" Izumi said, blowing her nose with a tissue.

"Come on, Izumi. Not you too!" Hinako laughed.

"It was a touching moment…" Izumi replied, continue to blow her nose. "Right, Yankumi?"

"You got that right." Yankumi said, giving a tissue from Izumi and they both blow their noses.

The boys just laughed, while Hinako rolled her eyes at the scene.

"Come on, let's go!" Yankumi said as she pushed the group of seven forward. They ran forward.

Suddenly Ren pulled Izumi to the side.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier." He held out his pinky. "Let's make another promise to each other that we will graduate together along with our friends."

"It's a promise!" Izumi smiled and wrapped her pinky around Ren's.

Right after all of that, Yamaguchi and the group of eight walked back to Class 3-D, but they notice someone missing. So, Izumi went back out into the hall and she pulled Ren inside, and then she pushed Ren forward into the classroom.

"Yo."

"Ren!" One of the boys stood up.

"How did it go?"

"Let's do our best until graduation." Ren said as he gave them his signature smile.

"Woohoo!" The whole class cheered as the eight made their way in the middle of them.

"Alright! Everyone's here, right?" Yankumi asked getting their attention. "Listen up everyone, let's get pumped up! All 30 of you guys in 3-D, we're going to graduate together! Oh!"

Class 3-D gave her weird looks as she threw her fist in the air.

"Come on, you guys too! Fight-oh…Oh!" She threw her fist up again.

"Oh…" They all their fists up lazily.

"You're too soft! Fight-oh…Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Fight-oh…Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Fight-oh…Oh!"

And just like that, everything is back to normal once again.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Kazama Ren's sister is Kazama Kaoruko. We will see her again in the story.**

 **I hope you all enjoy that Ren and Izumi Moment that I've made! Because I did!**

 **This is a chapter for the people with siblings and family members that you fight with often. I know they can be a pain in the ass sometimes but trust me I know what that's like. Because I have a little sister, who is becoming a freshman in high school this fall and she's got one bad-ass attitude. But she stills my little sister, so if you ever get the chance to tell them that you love them, okay?** **Before you don't get the chance to say that to them again.**

 **I got Hinako and Izumi Host Club Outfits from Daytime Shooting Star Shojo Manga clothing line courtesy of label earth, music & ecology.**

 **In the next chapter, there will be a Yamato and Hinako Moment! I can't wait!**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **Hostess: A woman who acts as a companion to the (usually) male client who pays for her company. This is usually restricted to a particular venue, called a 'Kyabakura' or a hostess bar, but some hostesses are known to keep high-paying clients happy by offering them services outside of their workplace. There is usually a negative stigma surrounding this whole business, even though it technically isn't prostitution.**

 **Number One Host: In Host Clubs, there's a ranking system. Whoever brings in the money for their club (getting customers to buy expensive drinks, being chosen specifically by the customers to be their host for the night) gets the number one title as long as they generate the most profit.**


	9. Episode 5

Episode 5: Don't think you can make it through life alone!

Today was different from any normal day at Akadou Academy. Because today was the Parent-Teacher-Student conferences, so all today's classes ended early. Including Yankumi's math lesson.

"Because today and tomorrow we have parent-teacher conferences in the afternoon, we'll end the lesson here." Yankumi announced.

"Woohoo!" The whole class cheered.

"Hey Chiaki, let's go play some darts after lunch." Yamato suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Hinako smiled.

"I'm in!" Ren smiled.

"Me too!" Izumi added.

"Let's go bowling after that." Ichi suggested.

"And go to a game arcade!" Kura added.

"Stupid, you forgot karaoke." Kamiya also added.

"Let's go!" Honjo shot up from his desk cheered.

"Honjo, Kuraki, Takaishi." Yankumi called out, getting their attention. "Your conferences are today, aren't they?"

"Ah, I forgot…" Honjo whined.

"Ain't it just my mom?" Kura asked.

"No it ain't." The class groaned. "I told you all, didn't I? This time it's a parent-student-teacher conference. We're going to be focusing on your future. Have you thought about it?"

"Not at all." One of the boys said.

"Our future is still a long way off." Another boy added, lazily.

"Of course there's no need to decide now." Yankumi nodded. "Whether it's college or work, it's not a decision to take lightly. You need to think about it ahead of time."

"I've decided." One of the boys up front of the class called out.

"Huh?" Yankumi walked up to him with excitement on her face. "Is there something that you want to do?"

"I want to be a 'freeter'."

"A freeter can be various things." Yankumi smiled. "First off, what sort of part-time job?"

"Part-time job?" He asked, confused. "A freeter is a man who can live freely. Right?"

Suddenly Honjo busted out laughing. "What an idiot! It's to breed dogs."

The whole class turned to him, including his group of friends.

Yankumi's smile dropped completely. "Honjo…That's a 'Breeder'."

"Huh?" Honjo looked at her in shock. "Ah, is that so?" He rubbed the back of his head laughing at his mistake. The rest of the class laughed at him and then they turned back to the front.

As soon as class was over, Honjo, Kuraki, and Hinako stood outside of the classroom. There were a few of their classmates waiting with them. Not long after that, their parents came to visit as well. Expect for one person: Hinako. She sadly watched her classmates interact with all their parents, and then, walk in and out of the classroom together. Kuraki-kun was called in with his mother.

"What do you think of Kuraki's Future?" Yankumi asked.

"I want him to do what he wants to do." Ms. Kuraki responded with a very charming smile on her face and it kind of brought a smile to Yankumi's face. What a nice mother to not be so possessive of her child. "It's not a parents job to tell their kids what to do."

"Kuraki." Yankumi couldn't help but muse staring at the woman with fondness in her eyes. "You have a good mom, don't you?"

"Oh sensei, you're making me all shy, saying things like that." The woman replied, when her face suddenly was turning red quickly and with a hard slap to her son's arm Ms. Kuraki let loose one hell of a loud laugh. Yankumi's smile faded slightly, something wasn't right with this…

"Do you have anything you want to do?" Yankumi directed at Kuraki-kun now.

"A charismatic beautician or something." He answered, enthusiastically.

"Charismatic?" Yankumi repeated, as she was trying her best to hide the chuckle coming to her while Kuraki nodded his head. "Calling yourself charismatic is…"

"That's no good!" Ms. Kuraki interrupted Yankumi. "You're not good with your hands."

"In that case…a charismatic shopkeeper." Kuraki changed his previous statement.

Yankumi tried to explain again. "You know… "charisma" is-"

"No good, you're too shy." Kuraki's mother interrupted her again. This time Kuraki-kun frowned but then after a brief pause seemed to come up with another idea.

"I've decided. A charismatic chef." His voice boomed with confidence.

"No good, your cooking is…bad." Ms. Kuraki's voice replied.

"She's totally telling him what to do…" Yankumi muttered to herself.

Later, they were only two students left to have a meeting with for the day. Honjo and Hinako. Honjo-kun's father had just entered the classroom after being at least 20 minutes late.

"I'm so sorry that I'm late!" The door to the classroom opened loudly with the person's hasty entrance.

"What are you doing?" Honjo-kun yelled at his father as the male approached the three seated in the room.

"I couldn't help it." The male scrambled towards the table. "I had to make tofu deliveries. Actually, my in-law collapsed. So, my wife's gone."

"That's horrible." Yankumi said.

"So, I'm running the shop by myself." He added. "I'm very sorry."

"No problem." Yankumi replied. "Sorry you had to come at a busy time. Have a seat."

"Here is some of our tofu." He offered a bag to Yankumi.

"Oh, arigatou." Yankumi hummed. "I'll definitely enjoy them."

"Once you taste this, you won't be able to stand other brands." Mr. Honjo stated. The two adults share a good chuckle.

"So Honjo, are you going to take over the shop?" Yamaguchi starts to speak.

"Like I'd that over _that_ shop." Honjo-kun spat out, Yamaguchi's smile dropped.

"That shop?" Mr. Honjo repeated his son.

"It's just 100-200 yen tofu." Honjo-kun went on with a scowl and tightly crossed arms. "Like I'd bow over that." He ended up his statement with a snort.

"Who said you could take it over?!" Mr. Honjo shot out of his seat while Yankumi tensed up and sighed.

"Just the way I want it!" Honjo-kun shout out of his seat as well.

"I'd much rather close the shop than hand it over to anyone who can't appreciate tofu, bonehead!" Mr. Honjo replied.

"Won't it collapse before you close it?" Honjo-kun taunted.

"You two!" Yankumi yelled over them getting their attention. "Please calm down." Luckily this calmed them before they turned away from one another and sat back down with angry grumbles and grunts.

"I'm going to be a Freeter!" Honjo-kun stated.

"There's no way you can work with dogs." Mr. Honjo laughed. Both heads looked at the man with strange looks, but he didn't appear to notice. "You'd have to deal with life in your hands. You can't do the job just because you think dogs are cute or something." Mr. Honjo tried to guide his son, but of course only got confused looks from all around him.

"Um… I'm pretty sure that's a "breeder"." Yankumi corrected the humble man. Honjo-kun scowled even deeper.

"Ah? Is that so?"

"It sure is."

After Honjo's meeting, Hinako was the last student to be called. As she walked into the classroom casually with both hands in her pockets and sat down. She glance over at the empty chair right beside her as Yamaguchi sat down across from her. Hinako looked up at her.

"We can talk while we wait for your mother or father." Yankumi said as she smiled.

"I'm gonna be honest with you Yankumi, no one's coming." Hinako said, nervously.

Suddenly Yankumi frowned and then sighed. "You didn't remember to tell them, did you?"

"No, I don't have any parents. They died five years ago in a car accident. My big brother became my legal guardian after that, but then...he died nearly three years ago in a horrible accident as well." She explained plainly. "You can write that I haven't decided what I want to do with my life just yet. Sorry if I waste your time..." Hinako got up to leave, but before she could, Yankumi stops her from walking out.

"Takaishi, if you ever want to talk, I'll listen to what you have to say."

"Thanks, Yankumi…" Hinako said, holding back her tears.

With that said, Hinako walked out of the classroom and then out of the school. She kept on walking until she found herself in the park near the Shirokin Shrine. Hinako went over to a small bench and sat. As she sat, she saw a ton of kids were playing on the playground along with their parents. She was thinking about how lucky those kids were. She looked down at the two bracelets on her left wrist and then pulled a photo out from her pocket of her blazer. It had a fifteen-year-old girl and a eighteen-year-old boy hugging her in the photo.

"Hiroki…" Hinako muttered to herself, with a sad look on her face.

"Hinako!" A familiar voice spoke out, snapping Hinako out of her thoughts.

Hinako turned to see Izumi and the boys running up to her. She quickly put the photo back into her pocket and then got up from the bench as they stopped right in front of her.

"You got done earlier than we thought you would." Kuraki said, catching his breath.

"So, did you and Honjo." Hinako laughed.

"Ready to have some fun?" Izumi asked.

"You bet!" Hinako winked.

Later that day, the gang of eight didn't know what they wanted to do tonight. But Honjo wasn't thinking about something fun to do, he was thinking about his dad as well as the tofu shop. He was even talking about it when they were having dinner at Kuma's Ramen Shop. They had just met Kuma-san, right after a small accident outside his shop. After they explain who they were, Kuma wanted to treat them all to some Ramen. Within Kuma's ramen shop, it was the very first time that the eight were eating together and talking normally with each other.

The next morning, Honjo's father collapsed from over-fatigue, and Natsume-sensei call Yamaguchi who told Honjo-kun about his father.

"Dad!" Honjo-kun came storming inside with Yankumi close behind him as the two adults in the room looked up as the door slid open.

"You look fine!" The boy sighed in relief when he saw that his father was conscious.

"It was nothing serious." The father waved a hand his son dismissively. "I just got a little dizzy."

"Keep resting for a bit." Natsume-sensei hurried over to the man as he strained to sit up and gently pushed him back down on the bed. "His blood pressures pretty high." He tells Honjo-kun and Yankumi as she began to adjust the man's pillow to make him more comfortable. "You probably had a cerebral ischemia attack due to hypertension. It would be better if he stayed here for a few days…" Natsume-sensei added.

"Stay here?" Honjo-kun and Yankumi repeated.

"Don't joke around." The man chuckled nervously with a shake of his head. "There are customers that can't do without my tofu."

"Know your age. Just let them admit you." Honjo-kun said.

"Age?" Mr. Honjo said. "Don't smart off to me!" Mr. Honjo tries to sit up again, and Natsume-sensei gently pushed back down on the bed yet again. "If you don't take care of it now, the hardening of your arteries will progress, and other problems might develop."

"Eh?" Mr. Honjo settled down upon hearing this from Natsume-sensei.

When Mr. Honjo was admitted into the Hospital, he leaves behind a very confused Honjo-kun, with some money problem. Class 3-D feared that he would have to drop out, so they decided to raise money to help him. Although Hinako didn't exactly agree with them at all. She knew that Honjo wasn't worried, he seems to be worry more about the money he had taken from his father, even hiding the fact that he had taken some of his money, and then dealing with what has happened already. That causes a major fight between Hinako and the five boys.

"Skipping school to work…He may be in a lot of trouble." Ren said, leaning against the wall of the classroom trying to assuage his growing anxiety.

Hinako gazed at him and tilted her head. "Maybe?" She mumbled.

"Being in the hospital, his dad can't open the shop." Ichi presumed.

"And there's hospital bills, too." Kura added, feeling a little depressed.

"And the money that Honjo already owns too!" Hinako concluded only to be ignored.

"Plus the shop might have to close." Kamiya said, feeling really worried.

"If something like that happened, it'd be bad." Yamato said.

"He may have to quit school, too." Ren said, in a serious tone.

"We need to help him somehow!" Izumi almost yelled out.

"I don't think it really matters, if Honjo alone cannot see the value of money." Hinako voiced her thoughts out loud clearly, getting their attention.

"Are you saying we can't our friend?" Kamiya asked as he walked a few steps towards her.

"No! That's not what I meant! All I'm saying is that money isn't the only problem!" Hinako said, trying to explain honestly while Kamiya gazed her. "I think Honjo should know the true value of money and hardwork."

Izumi was leaning against the wall along with Ren, she somehow understood what Hinako was trying to say to them. But she wanted to help Honjo too.

"Are you saying helping him out is wrong?!" Kura asked, feeling really annoyed.

"No, it's not that! Finding money will only fix half of the problem!" Hinako tries to explain again.

"No one asked you to help us!" Yamato turned glaring at her. "We gonna help our friend, whenever you like it or not!" He uttered.

"That's fine by me!" Hinako raised her voice. "But if you guys can't see the true value of money, or understand how hard it is to earn, then I don't know what else to tell you." She gave a last gaze to Yamato and then she walked down the hallway with Izumi following her as well, leaving the boys standing in the hallway.

"Man, she pisses me off!" Yamato yelled out as he was ticked off.

"But somehow she does have a point." Ren added. "Come on, let's see how we came help Honjo!"

After a while, Yamato and Ren were in the front of the class, along with Kura, Ichi, and Kamiya.

"That's the way it is." Yamato said as he finished speaking. "We need your help."

Kura sat a box down on the front desk. It say: _Honjo's emergency relief! Big collection box._

"If everyone chips in some, we may be able to make it work." Ren said.

"Please, everyone help to save Honjo." Ichi said, putting his hands together, begging.

"You're right." One of the boys said as he smiled.

"Alright! Let's chip in!" Another boy said as the rest of the class cheered.

All of the 3-D boys stepped up and emptied out their pockets. When all their pockets were completely empty, they all sat in a circle on the floor. Kura dumped the box. Everyone looked down at the small amount of money with sad disappointing looks.

"Let's give it a count." Kura said, trying to lighten the atmosphere of the classroom.

"There's no need." Yamato stated as he was upset with the small amount.

"It's nowhere near enough." Kamiya sighed.

"At this rate, he may have to quit school." One of the boys said.

"He can be annoying, but we'd miss him." Another guy added as others nodded.

"Alright!" Ren said as he stood up. "We have no choice but to work ourselves."

"Right. Let's work." One guy said.

"If we all do it, it'll work." Another guy said.

Then the rest of the class nodded and cheered in agreement. "Yeah, right! Piece of cake!"

"Let's do it!" Yamato stood and stepped forward. "3-D, Operation save Honjo with part-time jobs!"

Then Ren stepped forward. "Fight-oh…"

"OH!"

And just like that, the young teens of Class 3-D set out into town looking for some part time jobs. As it would turn of finding jobs for young students wasn't hard to do at all, there were all sorts of jobs that they didn't expected. Like washing dishes, loading cargo trunks and handing out fliers and product samples. The hard part about it was _keeping_ those jobs long enough to earn anything. Because the 3-D boys were easily hot tempered and can be sometimes lazy, they would start fights with one another which causes them to break plates accidentally, they would give up loading some trucks after the first truck, and then after having countless people passing by them as well as ignoring them on the street, they would secretly stuff all the fliers and samples into the trash. Anyway, long story short, they were eventually fired from their jobs.

For those who couldn't find any part time jobs, they settled for something a little more musical approach to collect some money. Those with guitars took to the streets with a basket and other instruments, they weren't any better. The girls sit somewhere at a distance from their classmates while keeping an eye on them as well. The boys were strumming with their guitars and tambourine loudly and off-rhythm with one another making an awful sound, no wonder no one was giving them anything. But managed only to save up a few yens. As for the girls, they just watch the boys to see how far they would go.

New problems appeared when the boys were also caught by Yankumi, and their pains with in vein. Honjo, on the other hand, encountered an old senpai of his, Narita, who lent him the money he needed. On his way back home, he met up with the group of five boys and Yamaguchi. She explained to him, on how worried his classmates were, and they were trying to work to earn some money for him. Then Honjo tells them that he wasn't gonna quit school and the shop won't close. He also revealed to them on how he used his father's money, then he tried to find a part-time job, but he couldn't and after that he tells them that he borrowed money from a senpai of his. At that moment, his way of thinking made Yankumi pissed off, and telling him not to joke around. Spending his father's money like that. The money that he worked so hard to earn through blood and sweat. Honjo agreed with her as he was trying to explain that he wanted to get the money back. But Yamaguchi still insisted that the problem was not only the money but hiding the truth from her father. He doesn't want to reveal that to his father and apologize. And that was the problem.

The five boys listened to Yankumi as her words reminded them of Hinako's words. Hinako said something similar this morning at school. But they still didn't understand the **true** meaning of it. They took Honjo's side, telling Yamaguchi that he _really_ gets it, and what is the problem, after all it was only money, at least to them.

But with that said, it pisses Yankumi even more. She lectures that there is a big difference between money that you've earned and money you've borrowed from. She went on saying, on how many times that his father had to bow down his head for 100 or 200 yen, so that he can save all of that money. And once again, the five boys noticed that Yamaguchi's words of explaining were the very same way as Hinako's words. It was a long night for everyone. They thought again about what Yankumi and Hinako told them. Little did they know, when Honjo borrowed money from Narita, it would lead him to serious consequences…

The very next morning, Hinako wakes up to the sound of her phone. She groaned and answered it.

"Hello…"

"Hey, Hinako." Izumi called from the other end. "Get up and meet me at Honjo's Tofu Shop."

"What? Why?" Hinako asked, curiously.

"Because Honjo needs our help. Ren told me that last night, Honjo was telling him and the others that he had borrowed some money from a senpai of his from junior high named Narita, and I think he's going to return it. We can't let him go alone."

Hinako sat up more awake than she was before. "Ok, I'll be there soon."

"Ja ne!" Izumi said as she hung up.

"Ja ne." Hinako hung up and got up. After getting dressed, she met Izumi right outside the Tofu Shop. After a while, they saw Honjo stepping out of the shop. "Ohayaou!" Izumi yelled out when the boy steps out and pulled down the cover over the front of the shop. Honjo looked up at the girls in shock and disbelief.

"Hina-chan? Izu-chan?" Honjo addressed sounding as if he was dreaming. "What are you doing here?"

"You're going to return that money you borrow from your senpai, right?" Izumi questioned him, curiously. "Ren told me that you've borrowed some money last night…" Izumi and Hinako watched Honjo's expression closely, he frowned and before his very eyes could betray him, he quickly looks away from the girls, ruffling with her hair.

"We're coming with you!" Hinako said as she and Izumi step a little bit closer to the boy.

"Don't forget about us!" The group of three heard a very familiar voice that sounds like Yamato. They glanced back to see the five boys standing there, casually.

"Boys…" Hinako mumbled.

"What are they doing here?" Izumi mumbled as well.

"This guy you borrowed it from, Narita. I've heard from he's no good." Yamato informed his friend, keeping his hands shoved into his pockets. Hinako turned to look at Yamato and she noticed that he had a fierce determination in his eyes.

"Huh?"

"What he means is that you shouldn't go there on your own." Hinako tells him firmly. "Because we are going with you."

"You guys…" Honjo said.

It was decided right then and there that the group of seven were going along with Honjo and there was nothing he could do that would change any of their minds. He seemed kind of happy that his friends have his back no matter what. So, without any more delay, the gang of eight set out to the location of Narita's office area. They entered inside what seems to be a garage/office type building inside a warehouse. The only reliable source of light was the desk lamp before them and the bright rays of the sun that poured in from the wide garage doors, in other words, the place was poorly lit. Then there was a loud slam of the desk where the man, Narita, sat at.

"I'm returning the money I borrowed yesterday." Honjo tells him. "I want to work on my own to return the money, rather than borrowing it." The Akadou boy was short and to the point with his words and while he was finishing to speak, Izumi felt a tug from Hinako and a mutter telling her to come along. She nodded, turning away from the desk, ready to leave.

"Hey. Are you joking?" The question came out as a mutter and it came from that very same desk, that Narita was sitting at. "You borrowed 500,000 yen."

"500,000 yen?!" Hinako repeated in deep shock, before a scowl came to her face when Narita showed the contract that Honjo signed.

"You signed it yourself!" Narita stated.

"This is wrong." Honjo snarled. "There was no amount filled in when I signed it!"

"That's ridiculous!" Hinako snarled out.

"What was that?" Narita asked, looking pissed.

"Honjo, you don't need to pay that." Yamato stated. "Let's go."

"Yeah." Honjo added.

And with that, the group turned once again try to leave like they did before. However, before they could even leave, a bunch of Narita's guys surrounded the eight.

"I can't let you do that." Narita's voice came again.

"What's going on, Hinako?" Izumi muttered to her best friend, nervously.

"Nothing good…" Hinako responded. After Narita gave his command, noise quickly followed. Suddenly Hinako yelped as she was grabbed and yanked backwards. She could hear the others yelling as well, everyone was being separated!

"Hold still little girl!" The guy holding Hinako snarled as he slams her down onto the desk and gripped her hands in attempt to keep her there. Hinako snarled in response, fortunately for her she was flexible. Despite the odd angle, she easily maneuvered her leg and ended up kicking the guy against the side of his head, knocking him clean out. Once Hinako was released from his grip and drops to the floor, one of his buddies approaches her.

"You bitch!"

"Hinako!" Izumi screamed out as she struggles against the guy who was holding onto her, but he had an arm wrapped around her neck and wrist, pretty much twisting her back in a painful angle. All she could do was watch the jerk curled his fist tight and delivered a painful looking punch to Hinako's face. The dark-brown haired girl spun from the force and dropped against the desk hard, she stop moving after that. "Hinako!" Izumi shrieked out, hoping that her words would reach out to her best friend, but Hinako didn't move at all, did that asshole knocked her out cold?

"Let me go!" Izumi barked at her captor. "Hinako!"

Seeing what Yamato just saw, seeing Hinako being hit like she was a man twice that guy's size, ignited a fury within the boy. With a sudden splurge of energy, Yamato broke out of his captor's grip and charged towards the son of a bitch who hit Hinako. But he didn't get far, the guy dodged his punch and countered gripping Yamato by his head and slamming it down against the desk hard.

"Yamato!" Izumi screamed. "Stop it!"

For a while, Yamato saw a few spots of colorful lights and a dizzying sensation enveloped him. He stopped fighting so he could regain his senses. When he did, he found his face inches away from Hinako's.

"Hinako…" Yamato grunted; weight was being pushed down on him, he was being pinned down but that didn't matter to him at the moment, there was an unconscious girl laying before him. As chaos still echoes around them as Yamato still focuses on Hinako. "Hinako…come on wake up…Hinako!" A groan answered him. Slowly Hinako seemed to regain consciousness and open her eyes, beautiful dark brown orbs opened wide and stared at Yamato granting him the ability to release the breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"Yamato...?" Hinako muttered out as she was looking right at Yamato. Both their faces were so close to each other. That punch really did a number on her.

"Yeah, it's me." Yamato nodded. "Are you okay?" Hinako slowly let her eyes close for just a moment, but muttered out a 'yes', much to Yamato's relief.

"This world isn't that easy." Narita's voice earned Izumi's attention now; she looked his way as she kicked and thrash about trying to get loose. Honjo has been dragged away from the protection of his friends and now Narita's thugs were taking turns beating the daylights out of him. "I'll have you pay the entire amount."

"I won't pay that." Honjo spat at the older male. Narita chuckled at this shrugging his shoulders.

"That's too bad. I'll have your parents pay it."

"Leave them out of this-" Honjo grunted in pain when one of the thugs kneed him right in the guts. He felt the pain and dropped to his knees. Narita approached him with a metal pipe in his hand.

"Parents are naturally responsible for their kid's debt!" Narita shouted as he was about to hit him with the pipe until a voice stopped him.

"Don't you touch him again!"

Everyone looked at the entrance to see Yamaguchi.

"Yankumi…" Honjo mumbled.

"A high schooler isn't really a fair opponent for you, is it?" She lectured.

"Who the hell are you?" The thugs stepped forward.

Yankumi got into her serious mode. "Me? I'm those kid's homeroom teacher."

"A teacher?" Narita and his thugs laughed.

"I'd like you to return my students." She said, slowly walking towards them.

"Unfortunately, this is my work." Narita said.

Yankumi tilted her head. "Work?"

He pointed his pipe at Honjo. "I lent him money, but he tried to cancel it by returning only 50,000 yen."

"Honjo. You…"

"That's wrong!" Honjo yelled out. "I only borrowed 50,000 yen!"

"And it was all nothing but dirty trap to beat us up!" Izumi shouted before the guy holding her covered up her mouth.

Yankumi glared at the leader. "It's dirty to prey on people in trouble to make money, isn't it?"

"What was that?" Narita growled.

"You can't call what you do work!" She stated.

"Shut up!" He shouted.

Narita nodded his head and his thugs walked up to Yankumi. She started to dodge the thugs with their punches with ease.

"It's because of guys like you that an increasing number of kids don't understand the value of money and real labor." She yelled out.

"Get her!" Narita commended as the thugs tried to hit Yankumi.

Within minutes Izumi felt the pressure on herself disappear and she broke free and fell to her knees, breathing really hard. She pushed herself up and watched with wide eyes as the whole gang moved in with confident smirks to surround Yankumi.

Then Ren run towards Izumi to see if she was alright.

"Izumi are you okay?" Ren grunted as he kneeled right beside her.

"Yes, I'm fine." Izumi nodded her head. "What about you?"

"Never felt better…" Ren replied, a soft groan drifted to Izumi's ears and then she remembered someone else!

"Hinako!" Izumi yelled out as she pushed off the crate she had been slammed down on and ran over to the desk where Yamato and her best friend was turned onto her back and was looking over her. "Hinako…" She breathed going on the other side of her. "Is she okay?"

"I think so." Yamato replied. "She's probably dizzy."

"He's right, Izumi. I'm fine." Hinako spoke up as Izumi looked down at her and just gasped. Hinako's left cheekbone and jaw were a very deep purple bruise. Izumi hissed at that moment, thinking about being hit just like that.

"Look what he did to you…" Izumi muttered.

"I'm fine." Hinako repeated herself with another groan as she tries to sit up. "Honjo…where is he? Is he okay?" She questioned stumbling to her feet with Izumi's help. Then Izumi check on Ren and the others who had gone down to Honjo now abandoned on the garage floor.

By the time Izumi and Yamato have gotten Hinako down to Honjo, they sprawled to the ground. When the eight looked up, they saw Narita was the only one still standing.

"You still want to continue?" Yankumi asked, dangerously. "If it's to protect my precious students…I won't hold back."

"Don't take me lightly!" Narita yelled out before attacking Yamaguchi.

But she stops his attack then knocked him out.

After that, the eight followed Yankumi to the nearby park, and they sat down expect for Yankumi.

"You guys…" Yankumi smiled. "All you do is reckless stuff."

"But…" Honjo sniffed. "If I didn't return that money, I wouldn't be able to face my dad."

"I see."

Suddenly Yamaguchi's cell phone went off. As she answered the call, Yamato turned to Hinako. He reached out and gently ran a finger over the left side of the girl's pretty face, her fair skin turned into a nasty purple color. He felt like it was his fault that she got hurt.

"I'm really sorry, Hinako…" Yamato spoke softly.

"Yamato…" Hinako offered a sweet smile in return. "It doesn't hurt that much anymore, really." She tells him dismissively, but he could see the slight wince when he touch the darkened skin. "That's what I get for being a jerk to you guys, am I right?" Hinako chuckled nervously in an attempt to hide the pain, which was so pathetic even Yamato could see it so clearly, but he let it go because obviously she didn't want him to worry about it.

Yamato sighed still feeling bad when Yankumi turned to them.

"Honjo. Your dad's escaped from the hospital."

"Huh?" Honjo quickly stood up and through for a minute. "The shop!" He took off running.

Yamaguchi and the others ran after him. He led them to his father's tofu shop where they find his dad working hard as usual. Honjo went up to him.

"Dad! What are you doing?" Honjo asked with a worried look on his face.

His dad looked up. "Oh, Kengo. Ah sensei." He greeted them both.

Yankumi begged him. "Please don't do this, sneaking out of the hospital…"

Honjo's dad interrupted Yankumi's plead. "But I have to since I can't leave the hospital yet."

"Of course not! You aren't better yet." Honjo yelled.

"Give it a rest." He tells Honjo. "I feel bad for the customers, keeping the shop closed for so long. Business isn't something for you. It's something for customers. I've worked believing that."

The gang of eight and Yankumi stood there and watching Mr. Honjo working as the rest of Class 3-D running up towards them.

"You guys…" Yamaguchi said, looking surprised.

"We heard that Honjo's dad disappeared." One of the boys stated.

"We were worried." Another boy added.

"Everyone, take a good look at Honjo's dad." Yankumi said. "This is what work is. It's something you do with painstaking effort and responsibility. It's because of this that money has value."

Honjo wiped his tears away then went up to his dad. He tells his dad that he used some of his money. He apologized saying he would work to repay it.

"Come on. Don't just stand there. Help out." His dad pointed to some buckets. "Wash those buckets. Wash them well."

As Honjo went over to the buckets, Yamato, Ren, Hinako, and Izumi ran up to Honjo's dad.

"We want to help too." Hinako smiled. "This needs to be washed, right?"

"Oh, thanks. Kengo, bring those molds." They washed the buckets as Honjo begged his dad to go back to the hospital when the tofu is made. His dad gave in which made the group of four smile.

Then Yamaguchi turned to the rest of the class. "Alright guys, shall we do this?"

"Oh!"

So, for the rest of the day, Class 3-D helped Honjo's dad sell all of his tofu.

At some point, the Head Teacher Sawatari showed up along with Yajima-sensei, and then suddenly Yankumi decided to take off running. "Guys, I leave the rest to you!" She only manage to inform her students before running away from Sawatari and Yajima. It was so hilarious.

Later that day when every single tofu was sold, only the gang of eight were left at the Tofu shop. Honjo's dad went back to the Hospital for a few more days. Honjo was taking care of the cleaning and closing the shop for the day. While the rest of the group decided to head back to their homes. But before they did, Ren poked Hinako's face.

"You were somehow right the other day!" Ren mumbled as he tries to apologize to her.

"Yeah, we're really sorry!" Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya apologized to her as well.

"It's fine! Don't worry about it!" Hinako murmured having no idea how to react and trying to skip that part too. It was making her feel oddly. Having people thanking her and apologizing, so honestly at her, it was kind scary. Her old classmates at Kuro Saigai were nothing like that.

As for Yamato, he was leaning against the shop's door, gazed only at her not saying anything else. Everyone was taking to their things to leave, while Izumi mumbled at Yamato. "Should you be apologizing to her as well?" But Yamato only blinked at her.

"She still pisses me off!" Yamato added. "But she was right! Tak!"

After that, the group of seven took the road home. Only Honjo remain back to close the shop up for the day. Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya gave their goodbyes and goodnights to the other four and then they followed a different road. Yamato, Ren, Hinako, and Izumi were still heading the same way. With Yamato and Ren walking in front of the girls, only Hinako was a few steps behind.

Ren with his lazy steps had turned to face the girls as they kept walking. "Izumi wasn't going to help us fight!" He teased her.

"Huh?!" Izumi said. "Oh, me! I didn't plan on it!" She smiled.

"But I'm glad you didn't get hurt!" He said, smiling at her.

Yamato and Hinako kept walking, not saying a word to each other. They were both surprised to see Ren and Izumi talking to each other like they were a couple.

"Has something happened between you two?" Hinako asked, without even realizing.

"No, nothing really Hinako, why you ask?" Ren questioned.

"It's just that you two are talking towards each other a little more." Hinako stated.

"You've been different ever since the incident with your sister." Yamato added as well.

"Well, I think we are all friends together as well as classmates, or at least comrades. Aren't we?" Izumi said. "I mean, that surely would change the way we speak to each other now, right?"

Yamato didn't say anything, he just nodded in agreement. Somehow Ren and Izumi were acting very differently. He was snap out of his thoughts when Hinako spoke up.

"Good night, guys! My apartment is other there!" Hinako pointed at a very tall building that was just a few alleys away from them.

"Are you sure that you can walk home on your own?" Izumi asked, with a worried look. "You got hurt badly today, and I'm worried that you haven't recover yet."

"Yes! Don't worry!" Hinako replied, with a fake smile. "Ja ne!" She said as she took off running, leaving the group of three.

After that, Ren said he would walk Izumi home. As Yamato watches the two walking off, he was still puzzled on how Ren and Izumi suddenly became so close. ' _There's something up with those two…_ ' He thought to himself. His attention soon caught a few high school students, that were coming out from the alley that Hinako had taken earlier.

"Was there an accident?" A girl asked, seemed worried.

"I think so." A boy replied. "I think the bus lost control and then crashed into a car!"

"Thankfully no one had died, including the driver in the car." Another girl said. "But there could be some injured, so some ambulances are going to the scene right now and right on time as well."

"Although it made a very big mess." Another boy added as he and the other high school students passed by Yamato. "There was so much blood all around the place. It really scared me!"

Yamato blinked a few times, his mind wheeled as he whispered. "Blood…shit!" He took off running as fast as he could towards the alley. He remembered how Hinako strongly reacts when she sees blood. If it was a lot of it, she would go into shock and have a nervous breakdown. Although he hopes that she didn't see anything. A few steps away there was a lot of people gathered. As the girl said, no one died but a few injured with only cuts and a few broken arms as well as legs. As for driver of the car, he was already put into an ambulance heading to the Hospital. He took a better look around the scene, and it was horrifying, and Hinako was nowhere to be seen. So, he could breathe again.

Yamato crosses over to the next alley and took one last look at the people around. As he turn to face the wall across from him, he saw someone lying on the ground. Yamato titled his head as he took a few steps closer, and sure enough it was Hinako.

"Hinako!" Yamato yelled out as he run over to her. He knelt over and grabs her then pulled her up over the wall. After checking to see if she's still breathing, he tries to wake her up, but he couldn't. It seems that she had fainted. According how Hinako was acting around blood, Yamato was sure that she had fainted as well.

He was going to take her home, but he forget where she lives. It was surely somewhere in these apartments, but he doesn't know which one. "Sorry, Hinako…" Yamato mumbled as he took a look inside her bag. Luckily, he finds her Student I.D and her address was written on it, even found her keys to her apartment. After that, Yamato gently pulls her up and placed her against the wall. He turned and lifted her up, putting her on his back, and carrying her in a piggyback.

"Hinako, even now you're making me do this?" Yamato mumbled as he finally found her apartment. He first rang the doorbell, thinking that maybe someone might be inside. But no one answered. After a few more seconds, Yamato decided to let himself and Hinako in by unlocking the door and walking inside. Yamato turned the lights on, then he walks over to the sofa and lays Hinako on it. He took a look around her apartment, the place only the basic stuff. Although it was really huge and the view, since it was on the 10th floor or the last floor, it was pretty amazing. "It must be expensive to leave here." Yamato said as he kept looking around. "This place is nearly empty as well." He tells the faded Hinako. Yamato walked a little bit closer as he gazed at her. ' _With her eyes close, and not being fearless, she somehow looks cute while sleeping…_ ' Yamato thought to himself, but soon that thought was called of by another one. ' _What I am saying?! I must be crazy, after saying something like that!_ '

Yamato was still gazing at her as he moved a little bit closer. ' _Should I unbutton her shirt?_ ' He assumed once again. ' _Will be ok if I did? I'm sure she won't mind. Yeah, it would be alright to give some air…_ ' Yamato's mind went on just like that. In the blink of an eye, he moved his right hand and unbuttons the first 2 buttons of her white collared shirt. Then he grabs a big blanket from her bedroom and covers her up with it. He could wait and see if she was gonna wake up, but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to do so. After all, Hinako needs her sleep and so does he.

So, Yamato knelt down and took one last look at Hinako as he move his fingers through her forehead gently. "Good night, Hinako…" He mumbled, giving a small smile. After that, he turned the lights off, locked the door from behind and left.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **I hope you all enjoying reading this chapter, because I enjoyed writing it! And I really love how the ending goes. Another Yamato and Hinako moment!**

 **Thank you so much for reading! Thank you to those of you who followed, favorited or commented on my story! It really means a lot to me. – Sydney-Chan7**

 **As always, I would love to hear your thoughts/questions. Feel free to send me a private message if you'd like! Please leave nice comments.**

 **Please feel free to post any reviews or send me a private message if you'd like!**

 **Also, in the next chapter is going to be sweet!**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is a component in East Asian and Southwest Asian cuisines. Tofu can be soft, firm, or extra firm. It has a subtle flavor and can be used in savory and sweet dishes.**


	10. Episode 6

Episode 6: First love… Protect the one dearest to you!

The very next morning as dawn approaches, Hinako finally got her senses back as the sun rays broke into the room. She yawned and stretched until noticing that she slept in the living room on the sofa. ' _I've never slept here…_ ' Hinako thought to herself as she noticed that she was covered with one of her big blankets. "That's odd." She mumbled, sitting up and stretching out her back. In a blink of her eye, she noticed her two buttons were undone. Hinako dipped her head, confused. "How did I get home last night? I was…the accident…and the blood…" She murmured sending herself a scurrying for another seat across the room.

She couldn't move or breathe. And yet she has to get up and go to school, but she couldn't. However, she wasn't ill with a cold or anything else. Even with a fever, she would never miss one single day of school. Hinako wasn't weak, when it comes to sickness. The only thing that's been draining her was her terrible nightmares and sleepless nights. Being the fearless girl that she is, Hinako made up her mind to go to school no matter what. So, she took her clothes off and put them in the washer, then she took herself a quick shower and a nice warm bowl of ramen for breakfast.

On the other hand, Yamato didn't sleep much that night. Thinking about the unconscious Hinako, it kept her mind busy all-night long. He was remembering all of Hinako's reactions, seeing her weak moments when she sees blood, lots of it. Even though she sees it, she still remains fearless. ' _How can she be so fearless?_ ' Yamato thought to himself, getting more pissed thinking about her. Girls are supposed to be all cute, sweet and very pretty. But Hinako was a bit too self-centered, very fearless, and always spoke her mind out loud. She was indeed pretty and maybe a little cute, but her persona outrage those things, or she's just a girl with no fear. Yamato was speechless, pissed though, but bewildered by her courage.

"Who is she?" Yamato asked himself, more curious than before. He wanted to know why she was scared of blood. His curiosity grew more than ever before. He got up, got dressed, and then rushed to school. When he got there, he went straight towards his desk and chilled.

Moments later, Hinako walked in. She still didn't feel good but manages to have a cracked smile on her face. She waved at everyone in class and sat down at her desk. Then, she felt tired and decided to take a little nap. The boys thought it was strange for Hinako to take a nap early in the day. Including Izumi. But the group of seven let her be.

~Minutes Later~

"Big announcement!" Hinako yawned from her light sleep as she heard Kamiya yells out loudly over the noises of the rest of the class. He stood right where Yankumi usually takes attendance.

Hinako couldn't help it, but she was a tad bit curious of why Kamiya looks so happy about, and what's the big announcement is. When Kamiya got the silence that he wanted, then he proceeds.

"I've got a hook-up party!" He yelled. Izumi rolled her eyes, and Hinako's ears start ringing as the rest of the class (expect for Yamato) cheered loud with joy. Kamiya held up his hands to silence the entire class. "Don't be shocked when hear this. This time there's 4 groups. Everyone here right and now will be able to take part!"

The girls have learned that Kamiya is known as the master of arranging hook-up parties, the fact that he could get a group of girls from a different school to go out with a bunch of Akadou boys have always amazed them. They don't know how he does it.

"You did it, Kamiya!" Ren cheered as he stood on top of his desk.

"Nice going, Hook-up party ring leader!" Ichi cheered, nearly in Hinako's ear.

Honjo nodded in agreement. "The girls! Who are the girls?!" He chanted, excitedly.

"First up, Momo girls." Kamiya placed a poster with a drawing of the girls on it on the chalkboard. "Then, Elize Girls school, Seijun Girls High, finally, Grace Music School." He placed three more posters on the board.

With all the girls posters hung up on the board, all the 3-D boys rushed to the front of the classroom to pick which group they want to join for the hook-up battle party.

"Oi, oi, oi! Yamato!" Honjo called over his shoulder. "Which one will you join?"

"Um…I'll pass." Yamato shrugged his shoulders as he turned away from his crowding classmates.

"EH?" Yamato didn't answer to his classmates as he walk to one of the desks in the front and sit down, staring off into the distance, bored.

After a few seconds of silence, Ren spoke up, breaking the silence as he was sliding across one of the desks across from Yamato. "I see! Well now, are you afraid of getting embarrassed if you're less popular than me?" He asked, messing with Yamato's hair.

Izumi giggled softly as she saw Ren preying on Yamato's ego like that, which also made Hinako really angry at him, that she wanted to beat Ren's ass right there and now.

' _How dare you prey on Yamato on that?!_ ' Hinako thought to herself, feeling angry.

"What!" Yamato snarled out as he slowly raised from his seat making it very obvious just what Ren has been doing by making his comment. Yamato found it impossible to turn down a challenge at being number one, if they challenged him to a match of popularity among the girls he won't be able to turn it down…would he?

"I'm less popular? That's impossible!" Yamato growled.

Nope, he wouldn't. Yamato was gonna take the challenge.

Ren smiled when he heard that. "Then…let's have a battle at the party!"

"Sure, why not!" Yamato growled smugly as Hinako's heart completely drops. "I'll show you!" He added not at all seeing Ren giving the rest of the 3-D boys a thumbs-up from behind his back.

"I'm getting fired up!" Honjo yelled out as he jumped in gleefully.

"Alright! Let's put more spirit into it!" Yamato cheered.

"Oh!"

Hinako was worried that Yamato will find himself a girlfriend at the Hook-Up Party.

"Let's get some girlfriends!" Ren cheered.

"Oh!"

"Kura, Kura!" Ichi called out to him. "What about you?"

The girls turned to see Kura was still sitting at his desk, which was very strange and unusual. Because Kura would always be the first one to be in a group.

"What?" Kura waved his hand. "Ah, I'll pass."

When he said that, everyone in the whole classroom was completely shock, including the two girls. Kura would never ever miss a chance to go to a hook-up party. The boys ran up to him and circled around his desk.

"Hey! What's wrong, Kura?!" Kamiya yelled out.

"Do you have a fever or something?" Ren asked as he put his hand on Kura's forehead.

"I'm not sick!" Kura replied as he removed Ren's hand.

"Ohayou!" Yankumi called out, entering the classroom.

The whole class went silent and cautiously turned to her.

"What's everyone all worked up for?" She asked, curiously.

"It's nothing." Yamato muttered as he answered for them, dismissing Yankumi's question.

"You don't have to hide it!" Yankumi chuckled out.

"It's pointless to tell you." Kamiya mused in response. "Since it's about love."

His classmates all nodded their heads agreeing with what he just said. But it only made her more interested, since the subject is about love. The boys are now in dangerous waters.

"It wouldn't be 'pointless.' Don't hesitate to ask me anything about love." Yankumi said, sounding both offend and excited. The 3-D boys all shook their heads. "C'mon, don't hold back!" She urged them to speak up about love.

"By the way…" Ichi's head popped up from above the crowd of his classmates.

"Yes, what is it, Ichimura-kun?"

"Yankumi, do you have a man?" The girls winced when they heard _that_ question. He went there. To make matters worse, the rest of the boys laughed while shaking their heads at the question. Yankumi went silent for a few seconds. Though the girls already knew the answer, there was no way she had a man, but the two wouldn't say something like that to her, because if they taunted with their teacher comes with consequences after all.

Yankumi gave a small chuckle and then her smile faded. "We're having a pop quiz."

There was the consequence as the boys groaned.

' _That's what they get._ ' Izumi thought as she sighed.

"Okay, please take your seats!" Yankumi said, walking to the front to take attendances.

As everyone took their seats, Yamato watched Kura, noticed that he was smiling really goofy.

"Something's up with Kura." Yamato whispered to Ren and the girls.

"There's something up with that boy." Izumi whispered as the others nodded in agreement.

Right after school, the five boys accompanied by their two female partners in crime followed Kura. It was getting weird, because they saw him skipping and humming. They all hid in some boxes that were laying on the side of the road. Kura looked at his watch than he starts running. The 7 teens rose from their hiding place after he pasted. They almost looked like a failed cosplay photo.

"Where's he going?" Yamato asked, curiously.

"Dunno…"

"Let's go after him."

They started to move along with their boxes, but Kamiya couldn't get out of his box and fell over. Kura stopped and turned back to them, but luckily, they hid before he could even see them. Then, he looks at his watch and ran off, with the seven quickly got out of the boxes and following him. He leads them to the hospital. As they got inside, the seven hid right behind a carboard person as Kuraki went up a cute-looking girl. The seven peaked around and smiled while watching the scene between Kura and an unknown girl unfold.

"I see." Yamato grinned darkly. "So it was this."

"That Kura didn't even say a word to me." Ichi grinned, while shaking Yamato in joy.

"It explains why he hasn't been around with us lately." Hinako stated.

"When did he find a cute girl like that?" Honjo added.

"Damn. She's cute too." Ren whined.

"But what are they talking about?" Kamiya wondered.

Kamiya and Ichi who held the hospital carboard person in place raised it a bit to move it forward so the group could inch close enough to listen in on the two lovebirds conversation, but one false move would spell their end. Kamiya tripped over the carboard person and tumbled forward taking Ichi with him along with the rest of the group tripped over the fallen boys and fell into a large pile the only one remain standing was Hinako who bit down on her lip hard when she realized they've been caught. The group brought the carboard person down with them, loudly gaining Kura's attention. He eyed at them like an owl pointing.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?!" Kura shouted.

The boys did their secret wave to Kura. "Hello…"

Hinako just rolled her eyes and thought to herself. "Idiots…"

"Get off me…" Izumi mumbled, laying on the floor with them.

After they got up, the seven were introduced to Kura's girlfriend. Her name is Saki.

"So, Saki-chan you've been admitted for 2 weeks?" Hinako asked, with a sweet smile on her face.

"Yup." Saki said, nodding her head.

"What are you sick with?" Honjo asked, like an idiot he was. He quickly receives a bunch of slaps to the back of his head by the group of six.

"Baka! How could you ask that?!" Ichi asked, with a disappointed look on his face.

"It's nothing serious." Saki-chan smiled.

"Sooo…" Hinako moved closer to Saki-chan smiling sweetly at the girl. "How did you meet this guy, Saki-chan?" The others moved closer as well, waiting for the answer. Saki-chan exchanged looks with Kura and they both smiled at each other.

"Well, actually it was when I had a cold last week." Kura explained how he and Saki-chan first met. "At that moment, an angel swooped down right in front of me."

"A fateful encounter?" Yamato asked, by smiling.

"It's not like you at all!" Ren cackled pointing teasingly at the boy, the rest of the boys laughed along with him.

"Shut up!" Kura said as he stood up with the rest of the boys goofed around with each other.

As the boys wrestle about with one another laughing and teasing each other as they did. Saki-chan turned to the girls.

"Do you two have boyfriends?"

"No, I don't have a boyfriend." Hinako said as she secretly looked at Yamato.

"Me neither." Izumi added, secretly looking at Ren.

Saki-chan followed both their lines of sights. "I see." She turned toward the guys, smiling. "I see you're good friends."

"Good friends?" Kura laughed. "It's more like dorks just messing around."

"Must be nice…" Saki-chan looked down sadly. "I want to go out, too."

"Is that so? I can take you out any time." Kura said, trying to cheer her up.

"Really?" Saki-chan smiled as Kura nodded. "Ah! I have to head back because my dad's coming."

Kura looked at the time on his watch. "Oh. That's right. See you tomorrow. Bye bye."

She waved and left.

"Kawaii…" The boys mused.

Hinako and Izumi couldn't help but they both roll their eyes at what the boys said.

"She's definitely a cutie, isn't she?" A new voice joined the group.

The boys nodded.

"When I'm serious, this is what I can get." Kura said.

"Hey!" Hinako yelped loudly as she jumped back along with Izumi and the boys from the person who just popped up beside them. The new voice was Yamaguchi sitting very casually as if she had been there the whole time. Hinako found herself behind Yamato.

"Don't just pop up like that." Yamato barked at Yankumi trying to stay steady on his feet while he had Hinako gripping the back of his blazer tightly. Yamaguchi didn't say anything in response to the yelling. She grinned pushing herself off the couch and drawing close to Kura.

"You rascal!" She smiled at Kura. "Well done Kuraki! Was that your girlfriend?"

"No, it wasn't."

"Yeah, right." She nudged the boy, playfully.

"Yamaguchi-sensei?" Another new voice joined the group.

"Hai." She answered.

Suddenly Yamaguchi paused in her light teasing to Kuraki and gain a dazed look as one of the doctors approached her. The look on Yankumi's face, she was definitely in love. At least the eight knew what the reason why Yankumi was here at the hospital.

"What's the matter?" The doctor addressed her.

"Natsume-sensei!" The gang of eight eyed Yamaguchi very curiously as she practically floated in front of the doctor. "Um…you forgot this…"

"Ah…" The doctor, Natsume-sensei smiled brilliantly when Yankumi offered him a book. "Sorry that you went to the trouble of returning this."

"She's acting really weird all of a sudden, isn't she?" Izumi muttered, the rest of her friends and classmates nodded in agreement.

"I think she's in love." Hinako muttered, as she suggested. Yamato glanced back at her and then back at the two adults. Strange…it kinda looks like they're having a tug of war with the book rather than Yankumi handing it off to the doctor. "How romantic…" Hinako gushed.

"Yeah…" Yamato rolled her eyes. "If you call one-sided love romantic…"

"You…you look great in your white lab coat." Yankumi muttered to the doctor still refusing to let go of the book.

"Oh." Natsume-sensei muttered humbly. "This is the first time seeing you in your jersey."

"Eh?" Yankumi finally released the book and Natsume-sensei stumbled back from the sudden lack of pull from her. "Oh, no…I apologize for being dressed this way!"

"What is she doing?" Izumi muttered as she was watching her teacher sank to the fetal position as if to cover up to her clothes out of embarrassment.

"No, you look good." Natsume-sensei assured Yankumi despite how embarrassed she looked. "You look like you're ready to seriously take on your students." He tells her.

"What?" Yankumi lifted her gaze, as Natsume-sensei smiled at her.

"I really like you in jerseys, Yamaguchi-sensei." But judging by the look on Yankumi's face, she didn't hear a word past 'I like you'.

While still standing there, Yamato and Hinako both made a face at their teacher and it was not at her stumbling around the hospital like she was drunk.

"Our homeroom teacher is sooo…weird…" Hinako tells him.

"You're just now realizing this?" Yamato snorted.

~The Next Day~

It was the day of the hook-up party. Yamato, Ren, Honjo, Ichimura, and Kamiya stood before the rest of the class going through the hook-up party rules.

"Alright! It's time to battle today! Is everyone ready for this?!"

"Yea!"

"Let's start the Hook-up Party Info session!"

"Yea!"

"Tch." Hinako sucked her teeth and was sitting in the back of the classroom with Izumi and Kura, watching all of this unfold before her. The 3-D boys were all so organized and serious about this it was amusing to watch as well. Kamiya pull a string from a scroll unraveled and revealed something that made the girls laugh quietly.

"First!" Kamiya shouted out. "They hate pushy guys!"

"They hate pushy guys!" The class repeated.

"Second!" Ichimura reveals the second scroll. "Put on a bright smile!"

"Put on a bright smile!" The rest of the class repeated. The two girls were trying even harder to keep from laughing aloud at them.

"Third!" Honjo called out, unraveling the next scroll. "Have intelligent conversations! Dirty jokes are banned!" It was rather ironic how he said this and made a rather obscene gesture to his pelvis.

"Have intelligent conversation! Dirty jokes are banned!"

"Don't you dare mention the name 'Akadou' that is absolutely important!" Ren unraveled the next scroll as he said this. "Alright! Today we'll get everything right!"

"Yea!"

"They're going to utterly bomb this party." Izumi muttered to herself giggling all the way.

"What's so funny Sakurai?" Izumi glanced over herself where Yankumi suddenly appeared with a smile just as large as the one Izumi was holding right now. Izumi simply grinned on nodding her head in the direction of the class. "What are they doing?"

"Hook-up party Do's and Don'ts." Izumi read the banner aloud to Yankumi.

"They're getting ready for their group dates tonight." Hinako added.

"Must be tough, recruiting girlfriends." Kura chuckled from his desk in the back of the classroom, who won't be taking part in this event, because he has Saki-chan.

"Kuraki, you're relaxed, aren't you?" Yamaguchi mused by grinning at the boy. Of course, Kura being the boy that was brushing his teacher off and turned away from her.

"Not really." He grumbled.

"Today, will you be meeting with that girl again?" Yankumi went on talking not bothered by Kuraki brushing her off so easily. Hinako and Izumi leaned over to see Kura's face and found him grinning like a big fool.

"Probably." He mused.

"Love is so wonderful." Yankumi sighed turning to gaze at the rest of her class going over the rules that they had come up with for their group date. Kuraki hummed in agreement by nodding his head.

"When you fall in love, why does everything seem fun?" Kura spoke up.

"That's so true." Yankumi nodded to this, even the stupidest things felt enjoyable with someone you really liked.

"The desire wells up to protect her at all costs." Kuraki went on his smile just spreading with each thought or feeling as Yamaguchi nodded in agreement. "Also, just being able to see her smile makes me happy."

"You're really in love, aren't you?" Hinako smiled at the boy sullenly. Kuraki nodded his head as he was still smiling.

"How romantic!" Izumi said as she squealed.

"Kuraki, Takaishi, Sakurai." Yankumi beamed turning to the three with one of her fierce looks of determination she would have often. The three looked at her curiously as she held up her fist as if she was getting ready to fight. "Let's all do our best!"

"Yes!" They chorused before high-fiving each other but then the thought came to them.

" _Our_ best?" Kura repeated the teacher arching a brow like the girls did. Yankumi simply gave the three the peace sign in response to their questioning looks.

The girls hoped that the man Yankumi was aiming for would prepare for her.

Kamiya asked Hinako and Izumi to help them get girls. They agreed, only under one condition. The five boys would have to wear exactly what the two girls tell them to wear.

Later that day, the time for the hook-up party came quickly. The five boys grouped up with the Momo High girls. But before doing their group date, Yamato, Ren, Honjo, Ichi, and Kamiya wanted to see how the rest of the class was doing in their group dates along with their two girls Hinako and Izumi. The seven checked the first room with the first group, which was the girls from Elize Girls School. They look through the door because they had windows and saw some of their classmates looked like they were making faces, some looked like they had mental problems and the rest of them just looked… _psychotic_! The boys leaned across the table eagerly at the Elize girls, while the girls bundled up together in fear, obviously.

"Oi, oi. It's really tense in there." Kamiya said as the others nodded in agreement.

"Besides, that isn't even a smile." Yamato added.

In the second room which was next door, and they saw the girls from Seijun Girls High. But they already look very nervous about this group date, they didn't even the school the boys went to.

"Well, let's start introductions with me first." One of the boys stood up.

"Hey, wait!" Another boy stood up as he growled in a scary pit-bull kind of look. "I'm supposed to go first."

"Hey, don't cut in line!" Another one stood up as he yelled out loudly.

Less than a second, the rest of the boys in there were screaming and yelling at one another, fighting among themselves like they didn't have a group, the group of girls in there sitting on the couch across from the boys, watching them with great fear.

"Geez, this isn't the place to be fighting." Ichi said, watching through the door with the others.

"Got that right…" Hinako added, looking at the boys in that room with disappointment.

The seven checked on the third group which had the girls from Grace Music School in there, and they saw the boys in there with them were being very, very pushy.

"It was love at first sight. Please go out with me." One of the boys said.

"I can't live without you." Another boy added, while holding a microphone.

"Please, I beg you." Another boy said as he stood up.

It was obvious they were trying to be romantic, but all the girls were utterly terrified by the boys as they all backed up into a corner of the room, from the mass of boys. But the boys pushed on, trying to pursue the girls to go out with them, but they were being pushy.

"They're too pushy!" Ren said, looking disappointed.

"That just leaves you five…" Hinako added, as she got up with an idea.

After a while, Hinako and Izumi come back with a pile of clothes for the five boys.

"Alright boys, here you go." Hinako said as she and Izumi gave them their clothes.

When the boys got their clothes, they looked at them in disgust. Izumi laughed out loud because she thought their reactions were just hilarious.

"You two are kidding, right?" Honjo asked, looking disgusted.

"No, we're not kidding." Izumi shook her head. "Now you five get dressed so Hinako and I can fix your hair, got it?" She gave them a dark glare which the boys left quickly in fear.

When the boys came back, both Hinako and Izumi wanted to laugh their asses off, but when they saw Yamato and Ren came out, they thought they both looked so cute! The girls fixed their hair, and then they gave both Yamato and Ren fake glasses. The girls hoped it would make them look nerdy or dorky, but it made them even cuter!

"Are you girls alright?" Ichi asked, looking worried.

"You both look like you really want to cry." Kamiya added.

"We're fine." Hinako said as she took a very breath. "Right, Izumi?"

"Oh, yeah." Izumi added giving them a thumbs-up. "Alright boys, in you go."

After that, Izumi found a vending machine that has beverages right down at the end of the hallway and got herself and Hinako a drink, then they stepped out to get some fresh air. On their way out, they pasted by a couple of delinquents from another school. Hinako thought they were going to their own hook-up party, so she and Izumi just ignored them and kept on walking. Once they got outside for fresh air, they found a little bench all to themselves right in front of the building.

However, they didn't sit out there for long when Hinako's phone started buzzing so suddenly. Hinako took her phone out of her blazer's pocket to see that it was a call from Yamaguchi.

"Moshi moshi?" Hinako answered.

"Takaishi, I just got a call from the hospital. Kuraki took Saki-chan out on a date and then she collapse just as her chest starts hurting and couldn't breathe."

"Is she alright?!"

"I don't know, I just found out minutes ago. I'll meet you and the others at the hospital."

"Okay, ja ne."

After she hung up, Hinako turned to Izumi. "Izumi, we need to get to the hospital right now."

"Why, what happened?" Izumi asked.

"It's Saki-chan…she collapse…" Izumi's eyes widened when she heard that answer.

"Oh no! We got to tell the boys."

"I'm with you." Hinako nodded. "Let's go."

Hinako and Izumi ran back into the building until they bumped into the delinquent boys that they saw earlier. But this time they looked scared, very scared. The girls ignored them once again and kept on running. They saw their five boys standing right outside of the room, looking very sad.

"Boys, we need to go to the hospital right now!" Izumi panted.

This quickly alerted the boys.

"What's wrong?" Yamato asked, as he and the other boys look concerned.

"Kura took Saki-chan out, and then she collapse when her chest start hurting." Izumi stated.

"Come on, we need to get to the hospital now!" Hinako added.

After the boys quickly changed back into their normal clothes, the group of seven ran straight to the hospital. Yankumi was waiting for them. She lead them straight to Saki-chan's room, where Kura and Natsume-sensei were standing in the hallway. They ran towards them.

"Kura!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Yankumi asked Kura. "Taking a sick person out like that?!"

"It's okay." Natsume-sensei reassured her. "She's just fatigued since she hasn't been out in a while. I think that's why she was experiencing painful heart palpitations and breathing."

"Um…" Kura hesitated. "About Saki-chan's condition…"

"She has heart disease." Natsume-sensei answered sadly.

Everyone's hearts dropped after hearing that, especially Kura's. The door to Saki-chan's room opened and Saki-chan's parents walked out. Yankumi stepped forward to them immediately. "Excuse me." They looked at her. "I'm Kuraki's homeroom teacher, Yamaguchi. I'm truly sorry that this happened." Then Kura stepped forward to speak. "I'm sorry. I…I…"

Before he could say anything else, Saki-chan's father grabbed Kura and charged towards the wall by slamming the boy to it very loudly.

"Oto-san!" Saki's mother hurried forward, trying to stop her husband from hurting Kura.

"You! What are you trying to do? Do you know what you've done?" He shouted at Kura.

"Fujimura-san." Natsume-sensei pulled the man off Kura, with the help of Fujimura-san's wife. Kura looked like that he wanted to cry right there and now.

Fujimura-san went to the school with Yankumi and Kuraki to sort out the situation. While Yamato, Ren, Honjo, Ichi, and Kamiya huddled outside the faculty room along with the girls Hinako and Izumi. They were listening to the adults through the door.

"I truly apologize for this." Sawatari said as he bowed.

"What on earth are you teaching here at this school?" Fujimura-san asked. "It's too late after something happens!"

"You're absolutely correct." Sawatari bowed again.

"He's being really hard on them in there." Izumi muttered from beside Hinako. "I…I don't understand this, she's okay now, isn't that what matters?"

"It's still a fact that Kura took Saki-chan from the hospital in the first place." Hinako muttered back, before the two of them continued to press their ears against the door to listen to the conversation within.

"I hear that this school has a bunch of uncontrollable students. Certainly…You can just tell that they're that way. I won't get the police involved since my daughter said not to. However, I have faith that your school will properly punish him."

"Yes, of course." Sawatari said.

Hearing enough, the boys barged into the office, while the girls stayed behind at the doorway.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you saying?" Ren snarled, leading the line up as the rest of the boys followed him.

"Kura isn't the bad one here." Yamato said.

"She was the one that called Kura out." Ichi explained.

"Stop!" Yankumi pleaded them.

"We can't be quiet about this!" Honjo shook his head.

"How can we accept this!" Kamiya added.

"It's fine, guys." Kura said, trying to calm his friends down.

"Boys…" Hinako mustered up enough courage to enter the room as well as having her left arm held firmly to her chest as a wall of protection. "Yamato, come back outside and wait…" But she was ignored. Saki-chan's father slowly turned to look at the boys and scuffed lightly.

"I'm amazed that your friends are the same way." He said.

"As a school, we'll properly punish him concerning this incident." Sawatari bowed.

"Please do so."

"Um…excuse me, sir?" Izumi took the little space on the right beside Hinako speaking softly under his hard stare. "You must understand, Kura did that for Saki-chan." She tells him as her best friend Hinako nodded in agreement.

"For my daughter?" He eyed the girls at his scowl never once leaving him, he turned his attention back to Kura. "If you care for my daughter, don't ever see her again."

With that said, Kura looked up at him sadly. Fujimura-san grabbed his bag and walked by the boys to get to the door. But before he went out, he looks back at the girls. "As for you two ladies, I would suggest you both stay away from these hoodlums." He added in his still harsh tone. "Before you end up in the hospital as well."

"What did you just say?!" Ren yelled out.

"Kazama!" Yankumi said.

"Ren!" Izumi said as she and Yankumi moved as fast as they could to the now angered Ren with Izumi standing between him and Saki-chan's father while Yankumi was standing right behind him, just in case he began swinging. As he proven his point, Fujimura-san scuffed again and then he headed out the door and left.

Following these events, the group of eight decided it was better for them to go their separate ways for the night. Ren said that he was going home but judging by his body language he would most likely be destroying trash bins on his way just vent his current anger, Izumi followed him just to be safe. Kura sulked away without saying goodbye and everyone else big sullen goodnights before heading on their homes as well.

The only ones left walking around was Hinako and Yamato. The two of them walked in awkward silence for quite a while, until Hinako speaks up and broke the silence.

"Saki-chan…" Hinako's voice caught Yamato's attention. "She must be feeling sad right now…"

"What makes you say that?" Yamato asked.

"Kura got into big trouble today, and all he was doing was spending time with his girlfriend." She answered, shadowed with a sad look on her face. "But then she collapsed, and probably blaming herself for it, not Kura."

Yamato understood what Hinako was trying to say. Well, when he thinks about that, it makes perfect sense. If Saki-chan thought it was Kura's fault, then she would let her father press charges. Hinako rambled on talking. "It…must be so painful to think you're the only one who sees the good qualities in someone, no matter how hard you try…no one sees the goodness in a person the way you do…" Hinako stopped walking and soon did Yamato, who turned and watched her curiously as she hung her head and gripped on the fabric of her blazer tightly, like her heart was hurting. "Why is always the same…?"

"Hinako…" Yamato spoke her name softly as he tipped his head as he dig both his hands into the pockets of his blazer. Hinako raised her hung head enough for him to see a look of guilt and almost unbearable anguish cross the girl's face. "You sound like you've experience something terrible." When Yamato pointed that out, he could tell that much from her face. When he tells her this, Hinako blinked as she release her tight grip from her blazer, and like a light switch, her expression quickly changed and painful look was completely gone like it never existed.

"E-Eh?!" Hinako stammered rubbing at her face, oddly. "D-Do I?" She added a nervous chuckle to this conversation. "Sorry about that, I've always had a natural talent for empathy." She offered this answer to Yamato while adding an obvious strained smile. She continued to rub both her cheeks and face for a moment more giving both cheeks a slight pat and let both her hands drop to either side of her body.

"Daijōbudesu ka?" Yamato arched a brow at her strange behavior, she nodded her head in response.

"Mm…yeah I'm fine." Hinako shows a small smile. With that said, Yamato didn't ask any more questions to her.

"Still…I can't blame people for thinking what they do." Yamato sighed out sadly, turning his gaze to the starry sky above. "When people look at us, they don't just see us. They see the school that we go to and its reputation with it."

"Labels really suck!" Hinako shouted.

When Yamato heard that, he didn't bother to hold back the snort and slight laugh that came out in response to Hinako's comment. But he agreed with her.

"They sure do." Yamato nodded in agreement. "I mean I used to listen to labels too, but now at this point in my life, I realized that they kept me from having some really good friends and meeting very interesting people."

"Mm…now that I think about it I'm kind of curious…"

"Eh?" Yamato looked at Hinako again, and he noticed how close the two of them stood together. Even in the darkness, Yamato could see her face was bright red as he leaned forward bringing his face close to her face to examine.

"What label does Hina-chan have?"

"W-What label I have?!" Hinako stammered out eyes wide as dished.

"Hai." Yamato nodded. "What was Hina-chan labeled back at Kuro Saigai? Were you a fearless fighter there as well?" He asked her by teasing and chuckled to indicate it.

"Yeah…I was."

"Where did you learn to fight?" He asked curiously.

"Well it's kind of a complicated story." She replied simply. "I'll do you that another time, ok?"

Yamato knew there was something up with her, but he decided to it slide because he didn't want to force her to tell him. As they got to Hinako's apartment, she tells Yamato goodbye and goodnight. Once she got into her apartment, she got herself ready for bed. However, she didn't get any sleep that night. All she could think of was Kura's sad face when he was told to never see Saki-chan ever again.

Kura didn't come to school the next day, his marked up desk was empty as his friends spent most of the class period looking at it in slight worry. Kura ignored everyone's calls all morning, so they decided that it was better to leave him be for now and give him some time alone. It was hard for them to wait, but they waited the bell to ring. After school, the boys along with their female tag-alongs went to their usual hangout place and waited to see if Kura would show up. Cause if he needed them then he would let his friends know, and they will be there to help him out.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and it was none other than Kura himself walking in through the door. The group of seven waved and called out their usual greetings to their friend, but he just ignored them preferring to take a seat on one of the bar stools instead of joining his friends at the table they were all sitting at.

"Kura-kuuun." Izumi was the first to move sliding out of her seat with a wine and scurrying over to Kura before tapping on his shoulder with a feather light punch. "Where were you, huh?"

"Yeah." Ichi was close behind Izumi with the others. "We've been worried." He patted his back.

"You haven't been at school." Honjo joined in, by shaking him playfully.

"Where have you been?" Ren nudged.

Kura still didn't say anything, probably because he didn't want to, and he was still heartbroken. Hinako sighed when suddenly Kura's phone started ringing.

"Who is it?" Hinako piped peeking over Kura's shoulder. "Payphone, huh?"

"That's Saki-chan isn't it?" Izumi said as Kura hung his head slightly. "You should answer it…"

Without even bothering to consider the boys' feelings, Hinako reached over his shoulder and she pressed talk for him. Kura sent Hinako a slight glare, but she shrugged it off and motion for him to speak. "I told you to not call me anymore!" He yelled into the receiver as the group of seven watched him with baited breaths as Kura listen to whatever Saki-chan was saying. "Eh?" A few more minutes more and Kura gained a face that looked very troubled.

"Ne, ne, Kura-kun…" Izumi nudged the boy as he pulled his phone away from his ear and slowly closed it. "What's wrong?"

"Saki-chan…snuck out of the hospital again." He tells them.

"What?"

"She said she wants to apologize to me so she's waiting at the park."

Without warning Kura abandoned his bag and ran as fast as he could out of the room. He ran out too quickly to hear his friends' calls to him. "Kura!"

"This is bad. What should we do?" Honjo looked from the door that Kura just run out to his friends.

"If Saki-chan's father finds out that they met again, Kura could get into big trouble." Izumi said as she bit down on her bottom lip with a worried look on her face.

"Contact Yamaguchi." Yamato suggested. "And then we'll catch up with Kura…"

"I'm on it!" Hinako was already digging through her bag for her cell phone. She was only on the phone with Yankumi for a couple of seconds, enough to get the message across, before she hung up the phone and nodded her head confirming Yankumi's awareness of the situation. Then they all ran out of the door and start running as fast as they could to the park where Kura was probably heading right about now.

When they arrived at the park, they saw that Yankumi was already there but alone, there was no sign of Kura and Saki-chan around in the area.

"Yankumi!"

The seven stopped in front of Yankumi.

"Where's Kuraki?"

They panted and shrugged out their shoulders.

"Look." Yamato called as he bended down, scoop something up from the ground and holding it out for everyone to see. It was an orange and yellow phone ornament. "This is Kura's."

Hinako stepped forward and gently took it from Yamato's hand. "Saki-chan made it for him."

"That means they were here." Izumi added. "But where did they go?"

"Let's find him." Yankumi said as she and the others start to run to find Kura.

It took a bit of running through the area, but thanks to Izumi who use her phone to track down Kura's phone, she leads them to an old warehouse on the other side of town. When they got inside, Izumi held her breath as what she saw, a gang of thugs were laughing and taunting Kura, even punching him and kicking him as he tried to keep them as far away from Saki as they could.

"If you try to even lay one finger to her, you'll be sorry!" Kura shouted out.

"Kura…" Yamato muttered.

"Kuraki…" Yankumi muttered seeing him being beaten up like that yet hold his ground.

"Bastards!" Yamato's snarl brought Izumi back quickly as both he and Ren moved to step into the battle. But Izumi and Hinako stopped them, and the rest of the boys by quickly holding their arms out and blocking their path.

"Stand back." Hinako tells them. "This is his fight, let him protect what's precious to him."

"Protect what's precious?" Yamato looked at her very doubtfully, but Hinako nodded as she was turning to them slowly.

"Like how Ren protect his sister and like how you protect me." The two exchanged looks of understanding even though Yamato had just called Hinako an idiot, but he understood what she meant. "And besides…none of you boys need to get your hands all dirty for this load of trash…let Yankumi take care of this." She added.

"Yankumi?" Izumi muttered, they forgotten about their homeroom teacher. They noticed Yankumi stepping forward and walking toward the gang of thugs.

"Don't you dare touch my precious student!" She shouted out, catching their attention.

"Who are you?" One of them sneered.

"Me?" Yankumi repeated, the glasses were coming off. "I'm his homeroom teacher." The hair was loose and just like that, Yankumi was ready to battle in her serious mode. "Don't you think it's dirty to gang up and corner one person?"

"Do you want us to do the same to you, huh?"

"Yankumi…"

"Stay back." Hinako spoke sternly holding an arm out and keeping Yamato back.

"That's my line!" Yankumi snapped at the punks. "I'll let you go if you leave now. Get away from him." She warned them.

"Don't make me laugh!" One of them charged at Yankumi with a pipe in his hand.

He swung at her, but she ducked out of the way delivering him a sharp jab to his gut and taking him down. Another charged at her after unarmed this time and began swing at her with his fist but Yankumi dodged without so much as a look of worry, finally she had enough and caught his first bending it back to a painful angle before jabbing him in the side and flipping him over her shoulder slamming on the ground hard, the next came and Yankumi took care of him in a similar fashion. It took a while, but Yankumi was handling them well.

Then something or someone caught movement out of the corner of Hinako's eye. She looked and saw that it was Saki-chan's father. He simply watched as Yankumi glared the last of the thugs down and noticed Kura's protective position in front of Saki-chan and hoped her father was seeing it too. The last thug glared at Yankumi.

"Damn you…!"

"You guys probably have no idea what's going through his mind while fighting, huh?" She glared back at him. "I will not allow you to crush his desire to protect someone important to him! I won't go easy on you!" She yelled out.

"Shut up!" He charged at her, but she didn't bother to humor him with a sight, she instead kicked him swift and hard in the gut and ended the fight with ease. After the thugs got up and scrambled out of the building as fast as they could, the group of seven wasted no time running over to their friend's aid.

"Kura! Kura!"

"I'm sorry." Saki apologized as soon as she assured Kura that she was okay. "I just desperately wanted to apologize to you."

"Are you stupid?" Kuraki shot back. "You should be worrying about yourself not me." He offered Saki-chan a smile and she returned it. "I'm pretty uncool, huh?" He directed this toward his friends.

"No way, that's a lie!" Hinako was the first to speak up with a bright smile on her face. "You fought all those guys on your own to protect Saki-chan." She explained. "That's super cool if you ask me, ne Saki-chan?"

"Saki…" Fujimura-san finally found his voice from behind everyone else.

"O-Oto-san…" Saki said as she and Kura both stood up when they finally noticed him there, he approached them. "Oto-san…Kuraki-kun isn't bad." Saki spoke up before her father could deal down a hammer of anger of Kuraki. "Everyday has been fun since I met him. I've started thinking that I want to get well soon and go back to school again!"

"Saki…" Her father could only mutter his daughter's name.

Yankumi took in a deep breath and then sighed.

"He's still immature." She casually stepped forward. "And he makes mistakes. But he really knows how to love people. That's what I think. Please, I beg you, please don't judge only from appearance and words. Please see Kuraki as a person." She bowed. "Please, I beg you."

Fujimura-san took in the look that Yankumi gave him before he approached Kuraki. "So…you protected Saki and risked yourself?" Then he handed Kura his handkerchief. "Thank you."

Kura slowly took it and Saki smiled and hugs her father. They all smiled.

~The Next Day~

Yankumi and Class 3-D stood outside the bus station, saying goodbye to Saki-chan.

"How come she's suddenly going to Fukuoka?" Kamiya wondered.

"Her father's being transferred." Ichi replied. "She's continuing treatment at another hospital."

"Just when Kura was spared a punishment." Izumi sighed.

Saki-chan's parents got on the bus, but she stayed. Yankumi pushed Kura towards her. He slowly walked up to Saki-chan.

"I might be attending school again around summer." She said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Saki-chan smiled. "Will you take me out again when I'm all better?"

Kura nodded with a smile. "Sure, anywhere you want."

"See ya."

As Saki-chan got on the bus, Kura called out to her. "Do your best!"

The bus took off. Kura yelled bye after it. The rest of Class 3-D ran up to him.

"Don't cry Kura." Yamato said as he and Hinako nudged him.

"I'm not crying." He sniffed.

"Damn! That was so sweet!" Honjo yelled out with joy.

"Now I want a girlfriend too!" Ichi yelled while shaking Ren.

"Me too!" Kamiya added while shaking Ichi.

"Crap!" Ren barked. "Why can't I get a girlfriend!"

Everyone laughed.

"That's adolescence." Yankumi gushed as she watched the boys poke fun and jeer at Kuraki.

"It really is." A voice said.

"Natsume-sensei!" Yankumi yelped by jumping and whipping around to see the good-looking doctor standing beside her.

"I came to see her off, too." He explained. "They're good students, aren't they?"

"Yes." Yankumi nodded. "I'm proud of all of my students." She grinned up at Natsume-sensei just to show how proud she was. Suddenly they heard a lot of whooed that got their attention. They look over to see Class 3-D doing it.

"Hey, don't show off!" Yamato laughed.

"It's finally Spring for Yankumi?" Ren added as he held his fingers up like a picture frame.

"You guys!" She glared at them. "How can you say that to your teacher?!"

"Wait! Damn, you guys! Wait!" Yankumi said as she was chasing her class.

Class 3-D were laughing with Yankumi right on their tail. Hinako was almost out of breath, when suddenly someone pulled her hand from behind one of the pillars of the bus station. She turned to see that it was none other than Yamato.

"Na…Nani?" Hinako cleared her throat.

"Shhh!" Yamato quickly covers Hinako's mouth as he looked back to Yankumi running past the pillars. Once she was gone, he grabs Hinako's hand and took off in another direction.

Once they lost Yankumi, they stop running.

"That was close." Yamato said, still holding Hinako's wrist.

"That's for sure." Hinako replied.

"You know after watching Kura protecting Saki-chan today, it made me want to protect someone important to me." Yamato stated.

"So you met someone at the hook-up party?" Hinako asked as she looked down.

"No." He turned to looked at her. "I met her on the roof of the school…"

Hinako's eyes widened. "You mean…Me?" She pointed to herself.

"Yes." He smiled and nodded. "Takaishi Hinako…I'll protect you… Ok?"

Hinako didn't know what to say so she slowly nodded.

"Now let's head to our usual place. Cause we don't hurry, we will lose them to Yankumi." He stated.

"Right!" Hinako smiled as she nodded again.

With that said, Yamato still holding onto her hand, the two of them took off together after their friends. Unknown to them, Yankumi was watching from a corner, and she couldn't help but smile from where she stood watching her adorable students.

"My, my." Yankumi hummed. "It's looks like Spring as come for you too Ogata-kuuun…"

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **In this chapter, Hinako was holding back a dark secret from Yamato. What was she like back at her old high school? What is she hiding? Well, you gonna have to wait and find out later in the story. Cause I don't want to spoil anything.**

 **Sorry it took so long, I've been busy. But I appreciate you all being patience with me. In the next chapter, we'll be seeing a new character and later on within the story. Thanks for reading!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Please comment to tell me what you think of this story so far. I'd appreciate any thoughts/concerns if you have them.**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **Baka means idiot/stupid**

 **Girls would often write love letters and stick them in the guys' shoe locker in Japan.**


	11. Episode 7

Episode 7: Don't make excuses for yourself!

It was time for Akadou Academy's annual festival, and Yankumi is going to encourage Class 3-D to participate in it as well. Especially this year since there's two girls in the class.

"Finally, the Akadou Academy will be held this week!" She announced then cheered. "Yay! Yay!" She waved at them to join her. "C'mon, you guys, too! Yay!" They watched her in silent until she calmed down. "Class, what do you wanna do? You have to decide today. What does everyone want to do? Go ahead and speak up." Everyone looked around bored by the idea, even the girls. "At least be somewhat excited. Anything's fine. Try remembering things from your 1st and 2nd year."

"We have the school festival every year?" Honjo spoke up.

"I don't remember."

"Yeah, I dunno."

"I don't remember doing a festival at Kuro Saigai." Izumi said. "Do you, Hinako?"

Hinako didn't say anything, she just shrugged leaning back in her chair. Yankumi's spirit about the festival just a bit. "You guys cut class and didn't participate in the festival?"

"No, no. I don't remember cutting…either." Kura laughed.

Yankumi gave a dramatic sigh. "The school festival is an impressive event that's representative of your memories of high school!"

Yamato stretched and looked at her. "We don't need memories."

"What are you saying?!" Yankumi stepped forward. "Don't you guys have at least one or two memories that you hold dear from this school?"

"Nothin' special." Ren said, sounding bored by the subject.

"Nope."

"Not really."

"None." Another boy agreed.

"What about you girls?" Hinako and Izumi lifted both their heads. "Do you two have any memories back at Kuro Saigai?" Everyone in 3-D turned to the girls.

"I don't have any fond memory from Kuro Saigai." Hinako said.

"Me neither." Izumi added.

"You guys are really pitiful."

"Huh?"

"But don't worry. You still have time until graduation. With this school festival, I shall show you how important it is to make memories with everyone." Yankum said as she have a dramatic pose.

"Sorry, but I don't wanna bother with that." Ichi said.

"We're sorta busy." Kura nodded.

"We're all guys, you know." Honjo said, making both Hinako and Izumi glared at him. "I mean besides Hina-chan and Mi-chan."

"Right!" Kamiya snapped his fingers. "We want memories of falling of love with cute girls, like these two here." He pointed to Hinako and Izumi.

Izumi blushed at _that_ comment. Hinako starts to scratch the back of her head in embarrassment, while her cheeks were getting bright red, blushing as much as Izumi.

Another boy agreed with Kamiya. "But there's no girls…" The girls glared at him. "I mean, no other girls around."

Yamato hit his desk getting the guys' attention. "But aren't girls coming to the school festival?"

All of the 3-D boys quickly looked at him with interest.

"That's right!" Ren pointed at him. "That means girls will be coming as guests!"

"Right!" Yankumi spoke up. "They'll be coming in mobs!"

"I'll participate!" Kamiya shot up from his seat.

"Me too!" Honjo shot up from his seat as well.

Then the rest of the class rose from their seats. "Me too! Me too!" Expect for Yamato, Hinako, and Izumi.

Yankumi smiled and turned to Yamato. "Ogata, nice follow-up!"

The girls both laughed as he gives her a thumb's up as well.

"Alright, guys!" Yankumi starts to speak as the boys sat back down. "What do you want to do?"

"A maze?" Ichi suggested.

"Troublesome…" Kamiya groaned.

"A planetarium!" Kura yelled out.

"You can't hit on girls in the dark." Honjo argued.

"How 'bout a coffee shop?" One of the boys suggested.

"If it's just a coffee shop, you won't able to capture girls' hearts." Yamato pointed out.

All of the boys groaned.

"Wait up! Wait up!" Ren said as he stood up. "We should tack something on that girls like to the coffee shop."

"Good idea!" Yankumi smiled.

"Like…Comedy Café."

"Dance Café."

"Hunk Café."

"Fundoshi Café!" Yankumi raised her hand.

"Fundoshi?!" Everyone in the class froze.

"A man reminds you of a fundoshi. And a fundoshi remains you of a man. It's a sure hit." No one said anything. "Huh? Not interested?"

"Who would be?" Yamato asked.

"What do you think, girls?" Yankumi asked, with a smile on her face.

Izumi starts to blush again thinking of Ren in a fundoshi, while Hinako covered her face trying so hard not to think of Yamato in a fundoshi as well.

"Hey, I have an idea." Hinako said as she lifted her head. Everyone turned to her. "How about you guys think of something appealing about yourselves?"

All of the boys nodded and started thinking.

One boy yelled out as he raised his hand. "Well, I'm good at fighting."

"You can't sell that." Izumi rolled her eyes.

"Being stupid!" Another guy yelled out.

"That's not appealing…" Hinako groaned.

Kura jumped up. "How about our hotness factor?"

"Hotness?!" Hinako said. "They have _that_ factor?!"

Izumi suddenly laughed.

"Yeah!" Ren shot up. "That's it!"

"Yeah!" The rest of the boys agreed.

"Alright!" Kamiya stood up. "How does the name 'Hottie Café' sound?"

"That's awesome!" Kura said. "It totally fits us!"

The rest of the class cheered in agreement. "Totally!"

"For real?" Yamato looked at Kamiya.

"It's in bad taste to call yourselves that." Yankumi lectured, but they just ignored her.

"Aren't you all excited!" Honjo called out.

"Alright!" Ichi clapped his hands together. "We've decided on 'Hottie Café'!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!" Ren started the chanting. "Hot ramen soup!"

"We're hot!"

"Hot ramen soup!"

"We're hot!"

"Hot ramen soup!"

"We're hot!"

Izumi starts laughing, as Ren continued chanting, thinking that the whole thing was hilarious. Hinako and Yamato looked at each other. They were smiling in amusement at the whole situation.

"Are we the only normal students in the class?" Hinako whispered to Yamato.

"Probably…" Yamato nodded.

Despite the loud chants, they can hear Yankumi.

"You know…you aren't that 'hot'."

After calming everyone down, the boys practiced for the festival. Yamato sat out because he was bored with the idea. When Yankumi volunteered to be the practice customer, they didn't do good. They didn't see Yamaguchi as a customer. So, Hinako and Izumi both volunteered to be customers for the boys, which made them very happy. Yankumi decided to sit down right beside Yamato in the very back of the classroom, to see how the boys would treat the 3-D girls. Yamato secretly thought this would be interesting to see…

The door opened.

"Welcome!" The welcome group of boys greeted the girls as they bowed respectfully. "How many guests will it be?"

Hinako and Izumi held up two fingers indication the number of guests. "Two please!"

"Table for two table please!" The boys went into host mode.

"Welcome to the Hottie Café!" The two girls were greeted by another group of boys when they arrived at the desk. Hinako noticed that she and Izumi were utterly surrounded by over eager boys practically doing flips for their attention.

"Wow. It looks like they can do this." Yankumi said in surprise. The boys just needed the right motivation; they wanted pretty young teenage girls, so they practice with two pretty teenage girls. It was simple as that and easy enough to understand.

"Please. Have a seat." The boys pulled out the two seats for the girls.

"Thank you." Hinako and Izumi sat down in their seats.

"Pardon me." Honjo said as he knelt down. "This is the menu." He slid the menu to them.

"All of you waiters are so nice." Hinako said as she smiled. "Don't you think, Izumi?"

"Yes, they are." Izumi smiled. "True gentlemen indeed."

"No…not really." The boys chorused by the girls and their comments, bashfully.

From the back of the classroom, Yankumi curved a brow and went a bit rigid from how humble and all around friendly they were being to the girls in comparison, different when they practiced with her. "What's this? They're totally different from earlier." Yankumi said, getting irritated.

"Move, move, move!" Kura called over getting his classmates out of the way as he carried a tray to the desk where the girls sat at. "Sorry to keep you waiting." He set the tray down with two parfaits on it. "This is 3-D's Hottie Parfait Special."

"Wow." Hinako said as her eyes widened at the parfaits.

"But we haven't yet ordered." Izumi said.

"Don't worry." Kura shook his head wildly. "This is a free service offered only to beautiful customers like yourselves."

"No way!" Izumi said, sounding surprised.

"That's wonderful!" Hinako added, sounding surprised as well.

"Thank you!" Both the girls said as they smiled.

"Kawaii!" All of the 3-D boys were reeling and gushing about how cute they were.

Yankumi ended the practice with a loud **SLAM** with her hand against the desk she sat at and stood. "Okay. Stop!" She yelled at them as she step forward going on with this charade. "We can't make money this way. Please start it from the top again."

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? C'mon, from the top."

Yamato laughed as the boys reluctantly started from the beginning.

After school, Izumi suggested that the boys should visit some Maid Café's and watch how the employees acted so they could improve even more for a successful school festival. And with that advice said, the boys left. Izumi left for home while Hinako went somewhere else instead of home.

Hinako went her part-time job, which is at a Maid Café. Hinako has never been a maid before, and she admits that she liked the place. The customers maybe a little bit strange, but her coworkers who are fine young girls are humorous and very pleasant to be around. Hinako works as a waitress, even though it was a bit draining at times, the thought that she was earning her own money with her own two hands was a thrilling one that Hinako would like to go to when times seemed impossibly hard. Tonight, however, was looking to be one of those nights that the dark-brown haired girl wished that she never gotten a job in the first place…

"Hina-Neko-chan!" Hinako looked up from the table she had been clearing at the call of her nickname. All the girls here are given some cute nicknames and their usual customers age it up feeling more personal with their waitress of choice when they came. The more at home they felt, the higher they will have to tipped. The girl called Miki who is just a year younger than Hinako, would quickly motioned to the café entrance which jingled with the sounds of new customers. Hinako knew the routine, all customers were to be greeted like they were the masters of a grand estate all by pretty, cute young maids which it was part of the fantasy and all men, no matter what age they are would drank it like sweet nectar. Being the last of the staff to make it to the door, Hinako stood in the very back where they could barely see the faces of the people who had entered but it was clear there was more than three people. No doubt about it, all the girls would be fighting for the tip of this party.

"Welcome back, Master." Hinako mused in her well-trained cutesy tone of voice with the rest of the other girls.

"How many will it be?" Another girl called Marie, who would always made it to the door first when a customer came, asked. Almost immediately she received an eager response of 6 which caught Hinako's attention from the back of the crowd. Six was a large party indeed and whoever got this group would no doubt get a well-paid tip if she managed to live up to the fantasy here. Hinako wanted that table so badly, but something was off, something in the pit of her stomach at that very moment told her in truth, she didn't want that party. For a second there, Hinako frowned at this odd sensation, something about the familiarity of that voice tells her that she just wanted to call it a night and head home before this party saw her. However, against her better judgment, Hinako ignored this self-warning and went back to usual business.

"Hai!" Marie mused. "This way please!" Like a small army of brainwashed robots, the collection of maids, Hinako included, motioned to the tables that scattered the café before ending their signature cat paw and the ever so popular muse of 'nya!', it always got the newcomers every time and this party sounded no different to Hinako's ears, the gaped and gasped and squealed like girls at the cute gesture and were ready to be taken to their table.

Marie was the one to get them seated and when they were all settled in and looking over the menu. She joined the rest of the girls in back for the hard decision that was picking the one lucky girl out of them all that would be serving this party of six. So far, Hinako was proving to be lucky; she was the last girl among three others in a simple game of stupid luck.

"Ready?" Marie asked, faced serious and dead set on getting that table; the other girls around her nodded in agreement. "Okay…Se no."

"Saisho wa guu, Jan Ken Pon!"

Hinako balled her hand into a fight first and so did Miki and Marie, Umeda was the only one of the three of them to pull a peace sign and when she realized this, she pouted letting her hands drop to her sides before she turned and went back to work. Hinako held her breath as she realized that she was only one step closer to getting that party of six. With Umeda gone, the remaining three huddled together for the next round of rock paper scissors.

"Jan Ken Pon!"

Hinako pulled scissors displaying the two fingers on her palm like a work of art, Marie did the same, but Miki let out a grunt as she quickly realized that she's been defeated for the table desired. One more to go, Hinako was so close! All she had to do was out luck Marie's luck and that table, its assured beautiful tip, was for her for the taking. The two girls turned to face each other, the air around them grew dense with how hard they focused on what was about to happen next.

"Jan Ken Pon!"

BINGO! Hinako chose paper and Marie picked rock.

"Acchi muite hoi!" Hinako didn't waste any time and immediately pointed down when she saw that she had won the round. Not having time to realize that, she had lost Marie's eyes followed Hinako's command and the girl's head dropped to look at the ground. That was the game, Hinako had won, and she gets the table of six. Marie huffled at her loss, scowling at Hinako who simply smirked at the girl like the smug winner she knew, she was grabbing the tray and quickly makes her way towards the table of six young teenage boys waiting eagerly to be served.

Now the key to success in the maid café business as Hinako quickly learned was to never ever end the fantasy no matter what. From the moment the customers walks in, to the second they walk out, they're the masters and you are their servant. Hinako had to be happy to serve them, so that means she has be cute, hyper, and occasionally act a bit like a cat that part was the key, especially when the customer was an Otaku. The name you are given will be your very own character, you build it, breathe life into it until becomes a part of you and a personality that you can easily switch on when your clock is in for your shift. Hinako, in the short time that she had been working at this café, quickly created the personality of Hina-Neko-chan after two years of practicing changing personas for the sake of her own sanity. She was the best of the best in this café, but nothing could have prepared her for what she was about to face. For only a split moment, between greeting her master for the night and asking them what they wanted. Hina-Neko-chan almost gave way to tough Hinako and completely destroy the fantasy.

"Good evening, Masters." Hinako chirped happily as she approached the table, they had to push two tables together to make room for the whole party! This was great! The group as a whole were too busy taking in the café to have noticed her approach, but her voice was just enough to catch their attention. They slowly turned around to face her.

"Do you know what you'd like to-" Hinako took in the first of her six masters to face her and it was just enough to almost chase Hina-Neko-chan and bring in tough Hinako screaming to the surface. For a second, she froze, and her dark brown eyes met with a familiar set of brown eyes. "…night?" She finished her sentence in more of a whimper than a happy chirp.

Ever have something you do that you don't want your closest friends to know about it. It could be playing a certain game or doing a kind of activity that you were deep into your core, feel like your closest, and I do mean _closest_ of friends should vaguely be aware of. Not everyone has one thing that they're just too embarrassed to let others know about it. Have you ever had one person that you would never ever want to know about this catch you dead in the act?

Well, that was exactly what Hinako was facing when her eyes met with the surprising eyes of her classmate, Ogata Yamato along with her five other classmates Kazama Ren, Honjo Kengo, Ichimura Rikiya, Kuraki Satoru, and Kamiya Shunsuke, from their seats at the table. Hinako went pale almost immediately, her legs shook from her toes to her knees and for a split second, Hinako thought that she was going to faint from the sheer humiliation she had just subjected herself to. And an odd silence surrounded the table and Hinako took this moment to recover, because she didn't want to back down now, not after she had fought hard for this table and she thought that these six boys were idiots for being paying customers. Hinako wanted to keep her job as well.

They decided to leave it at that. The six boys were her masters and Hinako…oh how she hated the thought of this…Hinako…was their _servant_.

"Keep true to the fantasy, keep true to the fantasy…" Hinako muttered to herself without the boys hearing what she was saying.

"H-Hinako?!" Ren sat up straighter in his sit as he was pointing at Hinako as if he couldn't believe she was standing there dressed up in a fluffy pick maid uniform completed with a very big pink bow on her head, fluffy cat ears, and a long cat tail too. The looks on the boys' faces as they came to realize that Hinako stood before them. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"Good evening masters…" Hinako replied, in a loud overly girlish voice bowing low to them. "M-My name is Hina-Neko-chan and I will be serving you to the best of my abilities, nya~?" A tilt of her head and she made a cat paw with her right hand and smiled ever so sweetly to the boys sending them reeling without further questioning of what she was doing in a maid's café. "W-What would my beloved masters like tonight?"

"Anno…" Honjo was the first one to speak while looking down at the menu probably for the first time since arriving. "What is the…'Magic Coffee'?" He questioned as the rest of the boys nodded in agreement, also curious as to what this drink was. The hand that gripped on Hinako's tray tightened until her knuckles turned bone white and internally Hinako swore up a fit. Of all drinks they could have picked, they had to pick _that one_!

"Keep true to the fantasy, keep true to the fantasy!" Hinako was yelling inside her mind.

Another silence followed the question and all the boys save one leaned forward expectantly. Hinako and Yamato locked eyes once again and she knew in that instant he could see throughout her character she was playing. Yamato was the one who never fall to Hinako's sweet charms easily, oh no he saw past the giddy act and fake smile. He even saw the strained look to the young girl who was trying with everything in her power to not flip the table they were sitting at and scream at them to get out and Hinako could tell by the slowly forming smirk that he was enjoying every second of it. Hinako took in a very deep breath and sighed remembering that she liked this job and she wanted to keep this job as well. "It's coffee…" She started to speak. "That you can transform into tasty coffee with a magic spell, sir!" She explained as her smile becomes more and more forced by the second.

"Spell?" Honjo said as he and the other boys look confused. Expect for Yamato, who doesn't care.

"But how?" Kamiya added.

In the back of Hinako's mind, she actually hoped that they wouldn't question about it, but like all customers, they did and that means that Hinako would have to…demonstrate…

"A…Anno." She could hear her teeth grinding against one another as she tried to keep Hina-Neko on the surface. "Well…" Once again, they looked at her with expectation.

'Keep true to the fantasy…keep true…to the fantasy…'

"Well, Hina-Neko-chan…" Yamato mused with a hint of a chuckle in his voice, if Hinako thought she'd heard him being a smug jerk before then this was a whole new level of smug amusement. Another silence came to the group while Hinako tried her best to smile. "How do you cast the magic spell?" Yamato asked while Hinako gripped the tray as hard as she could go. And she really thought that she would bend the metal. She set the tray down on the table but still clenched both her hands in tight fist, had to keep reminding herself that she liked this job and she wanted to keep this job…no matter what… With a small look of defeat, Hinako sighed and shaped both her hands, so they formed into a heart shape.

"Moe." She moved her hands to the left. "Moe." She moved her hands to the right. "Do-" She brought the heart close to her chest. "kyun!" And pushed it towards the table. The stupid spell must have really been magic because the boys broke into giddy smiles and excited yells.

Expect for Yamato…

"Moe, Moe Dokyun!" The boys all chorused mimicking her actions and cheering happily after they did. Hinako didn't pay the giddiness much mind though, dark brown eyes were still locked onto brown eyes. Hinako and Yamato still stared at one another.

A red hue was coming to the bridge of Hinako's nose when Yamato surveyed the girl in her cute little uniform and her hands still shaped in a heart. He could see just by the look in her eye if she would snap at him. He would demand to know what she was staring at, why was she was working at a part-time job. Hinako knew she was the subject of Yamato's amusement and all she could do was stand there and look at him.

She didn't know how long the boys were gonna stay, but judging by the looks on their little faces, they probably would be here for quite a while.

"Does anyone actually order this?" Yamato mused to himself, tearing his eyes from Hinako and snorting out a laugh at how ridiculous the whole setup was.

"Thank you for waiting, here's your magic coffee."

Hinako and her…masters looked toward the table next to them where two much older men with their backs to them. Hinako was glad that the boys no longer have any attention on her for a few minutes. She sighed with relief allowing her hands to drop at her sides as she watched Miki set two coffees down on the table for her masters.

"Oi, oi…" Ren stared squinted eyes at the two guests. "Haven't we seen those guys before?"

"Have we?" Kura broke from his happy daze and looked over at the table as well.

"Ah…Come to think of it, I have." Yamato mused as well. Hinako couldn't help but to agree with them, quietly. The pair were no regulars, if they were, Hinako would have known immediately. Previously to tonight neither men had ever stepped into this café while Hinako was working but she also couldn't help but feel like she'd heard their voices somewhere before.

"Well, now…" Miki's voice snap Hinako out of her thoughts. "Let's cast a spell together to make this tasty." She got ready and Hinako still forced to be in Hina-Neko's personality, happily did as well. "Moe, Moe, Dokyun!" Miki did the spell and Hinako did as well though she didn't have to do the chant this time.

The pair of men looked at one another before bashfully doing it. "Moe, Moe Dokyun!" Pleased by their efforts Miki applauded them.

"Sir!" Miki added. "The spell isn't effective if you don't try harder.

"Hai!" The men nodded eagerly, and the chanting starts once again.

"Ami, ami, beam! Kyun Kyun~!" Two other maids joined in the chanting with happy giddiness that encouraged the men to try harder on a ridiculous spell that everyone knew it wasn't actually real. "Lovey lovey, blah blah! Nyan, nyan, nyan, nyan isn't it yummy?" She chanted before cheering with everyone else, on the outside Hinako looked like she was having fun, but Yamato saw through her, she was forcing like it was no one's business. It was now that Yamato realized that her happy gestures and personality have are different compared to her 'real' personality outside of this place. Hinako hid behind a mask. Yamato was starting to realize that there was something up, much deeper in the works with this dark-brown haired girl. As Yamato spent more time with Hinako by watching her, he could see right now that there was a face full of pain and sorrow behind the cute smiles and girlish giggles.

Hinako continued to clap just like her co-workers but took a moment to gaze at the table she was serving at, Yamato found her dark-brown eyes gaze easily and within seconds, Hinako looked away again and her nose darkened into a deep red along with the rest of her face. Yamato noticed her face quickly and it look just like Izumi's when Ren would usually tease her about something. He smirked at this and starts to speak to her.

"Ne, Hina-Neko-chan?" He addressed to her by her café name forcing her to bashfully looks at him once again, he grins at her. "I'm looking forward to your services tonight." He mused, and oh-the-look of murder that flashed through the girl's eyes.

The next chance she got, Yamato was sure that Hinako was going to beat him up, or maybe kill…

Later when Hinako's shift at the café has come to an end. The costume was taken off and put away, Hina-Neko was tucked away for the night until the next day of work.

Right now, Hinako is walking with the boys in the tunnels which felt aimlessly miserable as she kept her grip onto Yamato's arm, firmly, which he didn't mind at all. Yamato was more amused with the actions of his classmates, then he let out an annoyed sigh. As their chanting went on, Hinako let out an annoyed sigh as well.

"I hate you all…" She muttered lowly turning her gaze to the concrete below their feet, but still managed to get Yamato's attention. He glanced at her with a smirk that she sees and chuckles softly about it. But it brought heat to her face. The fact of all people to see her working at a maid café, it had to be Yamato and his friends, that saw her wearing a cute maid outfit would be the ultimate form of humiliation for her. It didn't help that Yamato got such a kick out of it, all of it, she sent him a famous glare and elbowed him in his side as hard as she could. Not bothered by it, Yamato just simply chuckled.

"Shut up." Hinako snapped quietly. "It's not funny."

"No, it's not." Yamato agreed grinning down at Hinako with her so-heated glare.

"It's hilarious-oof!" His chuckle ended in a loud grunt when Hinako elbowed him again only with enough force this time to knock the wind out of him for just a moment.

"Ow!" Yamato whined.

"You deserved it!" Hinako replied.

"By the way, how did you end up in a place like that, anyway?" He asked.

"It's a part-time job." Hinako explained easing her glare and turning her head to look up to see the rest of the boys walking ahead of them both. "To pay bills around the apartment."

"But a waitress at a maid café?" Yamato raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's not just about the job itself." Hinako replied quietly earning a little curiously from Yamato, she then looks at her left hand. "It's about the money that I've earn with my own two hands…"

It was a curious answer that Yamato has ever heard, she was a teenager after all, earning her own money and taking care of her apartment all by herself, without any parents. He was about to questioned about her parents, but he was interrupted by a loud crash. The pair stopped right beside the other boys and they looked to the right side of the tunnel and found the source.

"It's a shakedown." Honjo observed.

"This is bad." Kura added while watching as a gang of thugs surrounding some poor guy and bullying him for his money. The group watched as the guy gave up his wallet and all of its content. The gang's leader took it and look inside the wallet before tossing it and yelling that it wasn't enough. It was at that point when they looked in the direction of the gang of seven.

"What're you lookin' at?!" One of them yelled out, making Hinako jump in her place.

"That looked like trouble." Hinako whispered softly, now gripping onto Yamato's arm with of her both hands instead of one.

"Let's run." Yamato advised, but it was already too late. The thugs were heading their way allowing their previous victim to have some space to run away, their leader was throwing his money after him.

"You got a problem?" As they drew closer, the gang turned to face them while Yamato easily pushed Hinako behind him. It was no use getting her all caught up into this, Izumi would most certainly have his head if Hinako gets hurt.

"No, not at all!" Kamiya replied sheepishly waving a timid hand as if to dismiss any misunderstandings between the two groups.

"Hey, wait a sec." A voice came from behind the gang, from their leader as he made his way through the crowd to stare at the boys.

"Yamato…" Hinako whispered peeking from behind Yamato taking it all in the image of a large group of thugs.

"Be quiet…" Yamato muttered back to Hinako, pushing her behind him again trying his best to block her from the thugs' view with his body.

"Oi…" The leader came into view looking the boys' school uniform. "Aren't you guys from Akadou?"

"Um…yeah we are." Kura confirmed.

"They're Goda-san's kohai, then." One of the gang members commented from the back of the group.

"Goda…?" Hinako muttered the name aloud from her place behind Yamato. "Where have I heard that name before…?"

Yamato tensed up pushing the girl farther behind him.

"There aren't upper or lower classmen." This Goda character jumped in before anyone else could say anything else. "Anyone can get into 'Bakadou Academy' right?"

"That's so true." Another guy from his gang added as the whole gang shared a laugh about it.

"Bakadou?" Hinako tilted her head.

However, the six boys and Hinako who stood before them did not share the chuckle. None of them found it amusing because they actually like the school now. Ask any of them, before Yamaguchi showed up all enthusiastic and dorky, they would say how stupid the school was and it was a waste of time to be there, but that wasn't the case now.

"There's nothing interesting at that school, right?" Goda spoke when he was able to stop laughing through he continued to chuckle a bit.

"That's not even true." Yamato uttered clear at them, glaring. Silence quickly came after this comment and Hinako was getting all tense up, while clenching the back of Yamato's blazer with both hands tucking her face against his back. The five boys turned to gazed at Yamato in surprise.

"Huh?" Goda arched a brow at Yamato.

"The school isn't half that bad." Yamato kept on speaking as he walked a couple of steps forward until he stood before the gang leader.

"That's right." Ren spoke up now taking a couple of steps until he stood beside Yamato. "It's not that bad."

Hinako was starting to learn after spending so much time with these guys, one of the things that older thugs did not seemed appreciate when younger thugs which are high school students try to get smart with them. Hinako had similar things happen to her back at Kuro Saigai with Izumi. They were always in countless fights and gotten themselves into crazy situations. Hinako had been acting like a wise-ass back at her old high school to some upperclassman or it was because some lowerclassman were trying to be cute with them. Either way when stuff like that happens, things tended to get violent, quickly. From the tense silence that followed, Hinako could only guess that it would be the same case here. She sneak a peek from behind Yamato. This Goda, didn't look as amused as he had sounded just a minute ago.

"Hey, you fools." Goda snarled as his gang moved from their place behind him and started to surround them. "Don't get smart with us or else…" There was a shuffle of feet and the next thing Hinako knew, the six had forced a circle around her keeping her from view and ranched of the thugs surrounding them. Ren took in a deep breath and sighed as he leaned forward a bit to meet Goda's eye level, thank goodness he was tall. Hinako couldn't help but think what was gonna happen to them now.

"What shall we do?" Ren questioned getting a sigh immediately from Yamato.

"Let's do it." Yamato replied shuffling from where he stood and with a quick shrug, he was able to get Hinako's grip from his blazer and judging by the way he looked back at her for a second, she was sure that he could feel the stare she was burning into the back of his head.

' _Do it? Do what?_ ' Hinako thought to herself. ' _He doesn't mean fighting, is he?_ '

Hinako didn't want to fight tonight, because the last time she got into a fight, she got a busted lip along with a number of nasty bruises and the mother of all headaches. And of course, she had to work again tomorrow night at the maid café.

Anyway, she was about to quietly point it out to Yamato, but the words were caught in her throat when he reached from behind himself with his hand to found Hinako's hand and grips it tightly. Hinako let out a slight strangled noise at the action as she was gazing down at their hands. If only the situation wasn't so serious, she would have flash crimson at this point.

"Whoa!" Ren's sudden outburst broke Hinako's trail of thoughts and she gave him a started look as he suddenly pointed to the sky. The others looked up as well and so did Hinako, but it didn't really matter, whatever he was pointing at. Because it was a distraction…

"A flying pig!" Kura yelled out as he pointed to the sky as well.

"Eh?" Hinako looks up at the dark sky above her for any sign of this flying pig. Goda and his gang looked up as well with sounds of doubt and bewilderment. That was the opening the boys needed. Before Hinako could even think, Honjo just yelled out something she didn't expect.

"Run for it!" With that said, the six boys took off running in a loud chorus of yells that echoed down the tunnel. Yamato ran as well while yanking Hinako with him before she even had a chance to say or do anything. Keeping his grip on her hand right, Yamato ran with his classmates and forced Hinako to run with them.

Down the tunnel they went on yelling as well as screaming, with their heavy footsteps joining in the loud noise echoing around them. Hinako could hear Goda's footsteps along with his gang as they were running after them, yelling at them by cursing and things of the like as they kept running. While running for her life, Hinako looked back and she could see Goda and his gang were right on their tail. She didn't want to know what will happen next, so she looked ahead of herself again and just let Yamato take her wherever it was they were running to.

The gang of seven quickly made a right around a corner, and then another right and another right after that one. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were running in a circle but running in a circle was a hell of a lot better than getting caught by Goda. So, Hinako held onto Yamato's hand tightly as she kept running while at the same time thanking the gods that she was so athletic or else she'd be dying right about now. Suddenly, after another one of their right turns, Yamato yanked Hinako closed to him. She fell into him with a soft grunt gripping his blazer to steady herself before looking up to him with wide dark brown eyes.

"Na-Nani?!" She stammered out as Yamato back up and dragged Hinako with him. Hinako blinked rapidly feeling her cheeks catch fire immediately and turning bright red. "What are you-!"

"Shhh…" From where they were hiding, a street lamp hung high over their heads and Hinako could see Yamato's face perfectly close to her face. He held a finger to his lips and shushed her before pointing from behind her. Hinako looked; Ren looked back at them with a look of a mischief on his face. He, along with the rest of the boys and their eyes, held up some trash bins and bags in their hands, facing the opening that they had come from getting ready for something, but what?

"Stop you bastards!" Goda's voice echoed from a short distance away. Hinako could see them rounded the corner like they've rounded just a few minutes ago.

"Now!" Ren yelled out as he throw the trash bin that was in his hand while the rest of the boys throw what they had in their hands before picking up the rest of the trash bins as well as bags and just throwing it. The bin that Ren thrown hits one of the thugs in the side of his head sending him falling sideways to the ground and his fellow gang members followed suit. Even Goda tripped over a garbage bag that send him to the ground. At the sight, Hinako couldn't help but just squeal out in surprise before a laugh bubbled out of her.

"You guys got tricked!" Ichi declared by jumping out of the hiding spot as the others followed quickly taking the moment to take in their good work they just did. Hinako had to admit it, seeing such tough scary-looking guys fall for such a stupid trick was very funny, and she join in with the boys in laughing at them.

"I see dummies!" Kura yelled at them before turning around and smacking his butt. "Pig my ass!"

With another chorus of laughter and a few snider remarks for both Goda and his gang, the gang of seven teenagers turned tail and started running away again. Goda's gang got up to their feet, yelling as well as cursing while at the same time chasing them down.

It felt like they've been running all night long, but Hinako didn't care about it at the moment. Ducking through crowds as well as hiding in big allies, for some reason all of this, was making her smile and laugh. That night, Hinako ran through the town with her classmates of Akadou's Class 3-D while holding on to Yamato's hand, tightly.

And for once, she felt like for the first time in a long time, she was having the time of her life…

The next day in class, all of Class 3-D was decorating for the festival. Hinako retells the events from last night to her best friend Izumi. Izumi was amused by the thought of her best friend running around the town with their 3-D boys as well as running away from street thugs, but then Hinako tells her about Goda. And when Hinako recalled of hearing the name at one point, Izumi grew stiff.

"Goda?!" Izumi yelled out the name in class while at the same time slamming both her hands on her desk as hard as she could, which scared the 3-D boys, including the six. "You seven were being chased by Goda?!"

"Yes, we were." Hinako said, before nodding her head. "I didn't know, until I heard his name. Now, I know. No doubt in my mind, it was him…Goda Ryuji…"

The six boys froze.

"You know about him, Mi-chan?" Honjo asked as he joined the conversation along with the five other boys. Though she didn't look as bothered as Hinako, Yamato couldn't help but notice her furrow her brow and a deep frown of concern comes to her lips.

"Yes, I do." Izumi nodded her head. "Almost all of the delinquent schools here in this area have heard about him. Even Kuro Saigai as well. All I know is that Goda is known to be the head of all the surrounding schools here in this area. He was called the Legendary Ring Leader of Akadou."

"Eh?!" Honjo gasped as the other five did as well. Yamato now understood Hinako's reaction. That's a whole lot of schools to be in control for just one person. Hinako hummed in confirmation.

With the school festival just around the corner, classes were put on hold, so everyone could prepare for it. After a while, the six boys started to feel uneasy the situation. Goda was known as the legendary ring leader, and they messed around with him. For all they know, he'll come back for revenge on them. Even Hinako started to feel uneasy about it.

"I hope the boys will be ok…" Hinako said as she stops painting the sign before her that she'll put right outside in the hallway.

"Yeah, me too…" Izumi added, as she continued to paint a sign as well.

As the girls continued to decorate, the six boys started to feel uneasy.

"That guy was the legendary ring leader?" Kura mumbled.

"I had no idea." Kamiya whispered lowly from his place on the other side of the sign.

"Do you think we went too far?" Ichi asked them.

"It'll be alright, I think." Ren exclaimed trying to cheer them up by giving a fake smile to lighten up the mood for his friends.

"Yeah." Honjo voiced in agreement in smaller voice then before, but he wasn't so certain if things will turn out alright, so he looked to his right at Yamato for support. "Right…?"

"Yeah…" Yamato nodded while twisting fabric between his fingers as he did making it obvious he was in deep thought. There was a fact, that no way this would all simply blow over and settle with no problem. It was Akadou after all, when had things ever just blown over and settled nicely on its own? No way! People like Goda held on to grudges and they would often go after people close to their grudges as acts of revenge.

Hinako and Izumi peek in through the door and heard nothing but silence. After a few minutes of depressing silence, Hinako unexpectedly walked into the classroom and stood up on an empty desk, which got all of the 3-D boys' attention, even Izumi's.

"Come on, you guys. Where's your school festival spirit?" Hinako asked.

The boys didn't say anything. They just sighed, sadly.

"For me and Izumi of being girls ourselves, I'm not finding this whole café's atmosphere not very likeable. To be honest, I see it as a lame-able…" Hinako continued to speak as the boys had all of their heads picked up a little bit when they heard her say that. "You know, Izumi and I thought that you guys were going to have yourselves some cute looking girlfriends, all because of this 'hottie' café. But I guess the two of us girls were wrong. Such a shame…"

"Now hold on there, Hina-chan!" Kamiya said as he stood up. "We will get ourselves some girlfriends? Won't we guys?!"

"OH!"

"That's the spirit, boys!" Hinako smiled.

"Alright, then!" Izumi said as she walked into the classroom and stood up on a desk as well. "Let's get decorating and have the best school festival ever!"

"OH!"

After all that, everyone in Class 3-D started laughing and forgetting all about Goda and his gang. Hinako helps Yamato make fliers for the café while Izumi helps Ren by making some paper chains. As the rest of the class decorated, Kura and two other boys ran in.

"Everyone! We're done!" Kura yelled out.

They all ran out into the hall to see. It was colorful and amazing looking. The spray paint was covered by posters and pictures of the guys. The girls kind of cracked up about it.

"This is great!" Yankumi said, popping out of nowhere, as usual.

"Isn't it?"

"Trying something like this is pretty fun, huh?" Ichi asked them.

"Yeah." Ren agreed. "It's unexpected."

The rest of Class 3-D agreed.

"Everyone!" They all looked at the end of the hallway to see two guys carrying two boxes. "The Hottie Café aprons are done!"

The whole class cheered and took them inside the classroom.

Honjo opened up one of the boxes and just smiled. "This is cool! It totally fits me, right?"

"I have a good feeling about this." Kamiya smiled as well.

Yamato grabbed one of the aprons and gave it the seal of approval. "It's not bad."

As the rest of the boys grabbed their aprons, Yankumi came up beside Hinako and Izumi.

"Everyone looks so happy." She smiled.

"Yes, they do." Izumi nodded in agreement.

"Now comes the hardest part of all." Hinako added.

"The hardest part of all?" Yankumi tilted her head.

"Customers." Hinako replied. "In other words, getting cute girls to come."

Right after school, the whole Class 3-D got a stack of flyers and hand them out so the whole town would know about it. The girls thought it was funny to watch. They walked around to see how the 3-D boys were doing and some of them didn't do so good, Hinako and Izumi notice that the only group getting results was their group of six boys.

"We'll come tomorrow, okay?"

Ren along with Ichi and Kura stood proudly trying to look cool in front of a group of pretty girls despite how happy they obviously looked.

"We'll see you tomorrow then." Ren remarked in his best attempted cool guy voice earning giggles from the girls as they continued on their way holding flyers in hand.

"We'll be waiting!" Kura and Ichi both called after them while at the same time waving with excitement.

"Will they really come?" Yamato commented.

Judging by the look on his face, he knew those girls won't show up tomorrow at all.

After a while, Hinako and Izumi both started to get bored because since they're girls themselves, they couldn't help passing out the fliers. So, the girls decided to go and get something to drink. But first they asked the boys if they wanted anything to drink, the six boys just shook their heads. Right after that, the girls got themselves some drinks. However, when they got back, they saw something unexpected and kind of funny as well.

"A 'Hottie Café' you say?!" A voice suddenly yelled over the noise of the station where the boys stood in. A crowd of older, much older, women suddenly appeared before them. One woman quickly snatched up a flyer from Honjo's hand clenching it tightly as if it was her life support as more older women around her, crowded in closely to take a look. These women looked far more excited about it than Hinako or Izumi would have thought, for someone their age, of course.

"We'll come!" Another older woman declared with a loud, excited yell just as fast as they had appeared the women swarmed the six 3-D boys. Oh, those poor boys, they tried to get away backing up until their backs hit the wall behind them and they couldn't escape. The older women swarmed them to the point where Hinako and Izumi both couldn't see the boys from among them. With loud yells of excitement from the women and what Hinako and Izumi could hear, was the sounds of ripping fabric that the women quickly took all the flyers from all the boys' hands and then they just ran off like they'd won a fortune, what they left behind was a mess of teenage boys sprawled out on the floor their clothes in disarray from all the grabbing and pulling that they went through moments ago. It was too much for Hinako and Izumi to take in; suddenly they both let out just a tiny snort of a laugh and then they began giggling while at the same time holding their hands over their mouths to covered up the sounds. Yamato couldn't help but be happy to Hinako laughing at his situation here, so she strained to keep her laughter at bay as she and Izumi approached the boys and kneeled down before them.

"Are you guys okay?" Izumi asked.

"Yeah, we're good." Ichi remarked sitting up a bit and fixing his wild-looking hair.

"Older women sure are scary." Kamiya remarked getting nods of agreement from the others.

"Look on the bright side…" Ren grunted from his end of the lineup, his blazer had been yanked clean off his shoulders now hanging off his arms as he moved to stand up. "At least we handed out most of the flyers."

The rest of the boys nodded about that as well.

"I see you finally found some ladies to attend." Izumi teased them. "Wouldn't you say, Hinako?"

"Yeah…" Hinako said, in the best encouraging way she could without laughing at them.

Hinako looked over to Yamato, who was slouching on the ground before her with his hair thrown to one side of his head and his blazer hanging off one of his shoulders.

"Are you okay?" She questioned him.

"I'm fine." He grunted.

"You look like a downright mess." Hinako giggled; while the boys began gathering themselves from the floor. She ran a hand through Yamato's hair to push it back into place.

"Whoa…" Hinako muttered. She was surprised to feel how soft Yamato's hair was to the touch, like she was running her finger through soft silk as she continues to comb through it to get the usually messy mane a mess messy. Hinako wouldn't expect an Akadou student from Class 3-D to take care of their hair than it was necessary but here Yamato was.

"What are you doing?" Yamato's voice broke Hinako's trail of thoughts and he brought her back to reality. Here Hinako was looming over Yamato with both her hands in his hair while he fixed his blazer and shirt; this was a very intimate scene if seen through the eyes of someone else who didn't know Yamato or Hinako.

"Ah! Anno…" Hinako pulled her hands away from Yamato's head as if she was suddenly shocked of what she was doing. "I was just…" Heat came to her face just like the pits of hell making it obvious that she must be so red in the face, bright red. "It's just that…I was…Fixing you hair…"

"Huh…?" Yamato arched a brow at Hinako's answer to his question.

"Sorry…" Hinako muttered in embarrassment, she overstepped her boundaries right there.

"Don't lie to me." Yamato remarked almost immediately prefer not to look the girl in the eye. Instead his gaze found her hands; those slender elegant hand of hers', just thinking about how they ran through his hair moments ago, made Yamato turning red in the face, the same way as Hinako's.

"It felt nice…" He muttered, honestly.

Then he scolded himself, mentally, for saying such a thing. 'It felt nice?! Who says something like that to a cute high school girl?!' Yamato thought to himself.

Lucky to Yamato, he wouldn't have to worry about sitting on the ground with Hinako in an awkward situation because a few more seconds a shadow suddenly loomed over the two of them.

"Thanks for yesterday." A familiar voice spoke up from behind Hinako. Yamato looked up and tense while Hinako glanced over her shoulder and gasped. Goda stood like an ominous tower over the two of them, along with his gang from last night stood on both sides of him surrounding the six 3-D boys and the two 3-D girls. Yamato got to his feet quick when he saw who spoke to him as did the other five boys, including Hinako. Goda noticed the two girls and he looks at them both, very closely. "So, the rumors are true." He smirked. "Bakadou is adding girls this year."

"Bakadou?" Izumi tilted her head.

"I guess if pretty little things like yourselves are there in that school, then it wouldn't be so bad, would it?" Goda added as he reached for Hinako, but then Yamato pulled her behind him, while Ren quickly pulls Izumi behind him. "Oh, so those two are your girls?" Goda and his gang closes in the gang of right. "You guys seem to be in control of Akadou. Ogata Yamato." He first looked at Yamato, then looked at Ren. "Kazama Ren."

"How do you know?" Ren said as he looked at Goda over nervously; it had been dark in those tunnels last night, so it would have been hard to recognize who they were.

"I obviously want to give my thanks for yesterday."

Then, he grabs a hold of Ren's blazer.

"Ren…" Izumi yelped watching in horror as Goda closed the space between him and Ren.

Ren quickly pushed Izumi back to her place behind him against the wall, while Yamato does the very same thing for Hinako. He pushed her back to the wall. The last thing the six boys wanted was their two girls to be in danger. Even though both Hinako and Izumi know how to fight and defend themselves as well.

"What do you want from my students?"

Goda as well as his gang members looked behind to see Yankumi standing there.

"Yankumi…couldn't have come at a better time…" Hinako muttered as she sighed with relief.

"Who are you?" Goda and his gang glared at Yankumi.

"I'm their homeroom teacher." Yankumi answered, honesty.

"A teacher?" Goda chuckled out like all those before him when it comes to meeting this woman for the first time. His gang quickly followed his example and laughed along with him not finding the idea of a teacher standing in their way, very threatening at all.

Yankumi wasn't bothered by their laughing though, she never was. It was simply because she'd had it happen so many times before with previous students and situations just like this one that she knew when push came to shove none of these punks would be laughing anymore.

"If you want something from them, ask me instead." Yankumi interrupted their laughing by saying this with a calm face but gave them a look that almost dared them to test her.

"Taking part in the school festival with a teacher?" Goda said as he glanced at the gang of eight. "Akadou delinquents have gone downhill, haven't they?" He looked back at the teacher. "Even if you pass these out, no one will come to Bakadou festival."

"Bakadou?" Yankumi repeated bewildered by the name. With that said, Goda didn't anything else to say, so he along with his gang began to walk away. Yankumi walked up to the group of eight still watching the former Akadou delinquent turned and went on his way.

"Who was that?" She asked.

"A former grad from Akadou, Goda-san." Ichi answered.

"So, he's the legendary ring leader." Yankumi muttered.

It was getting harder to deny the fact that they might have gotten themselves into a lot of trouble this time. Yamato had been hoping that Goda would simply take their horsing around as stupid kids just being stupid, but apparently it was personal.

Later that day, the eight went to their usual hangout place. Yamato laid on the couch, Ren and Izumi played darts as the rest of the boys sat down at the table. Expect for Hinako, who stood up for only a moment. She walked over to Yamato and sat down by his legs.

"Are you feeling ok?" She whispered to him, so the others wouldn't hear, especially Izumi. "You looked a little bit down there."

"I'm fine." He sighed. "Just thinking."

"About Goda?"

"Yeah…" Yamato nodded, being honest.

This grab Hinako's attention. That was the first time she saw Yamato being honest with himself. Without a second thought, she scoots over a little to him and laid down beside him placing her head on his shoulder, which made Yamato's cheeks blushing bright red.

"What are you doing?" He muttered to her.

"Don't worry yourself about it." She smiled at him. "Everything will be fine."

Next thing Hinako knew, Yamato kissed her on the forehead, which she didn't expect that at all. And he smiled back at her, suddenly Yamato's phone started ringing. Hinako sat up quickly before the others could see. Yamato chuckled, before answering his phone.

"Matsukata?" He answered. Then suddenly he sat up as well.

"Goda…"

The name got everyone's attention. Yamato hung up his phone and runs out the door. Hinako and the others followed him to a parking garage where they found Matsukata along with his crew laying on the ground, nearly beaten to death.

"Matsukata!" The eight ran to them. "Hey! Takahashi!"

"Are you okay?" Hinako asked as she and Izumi knelt down to check all their wounds.

"Sorry…"

"That was late." A familiar voice laughed behind them.

The group of eight turned to see Goda and his gang smirking at them. Without another second, Yamato threw his bag down and glared at them.

"These guys aren't even involved!" He yelled.

"You have nerve to drag these guys into it, bastards!" Ren yelled out.

"We've got to do something about you punks not taking us seriously." Goda stepped forward and punch Yamato in the face.

Once the fighting begins, Hinako and Izumi moved Matsukata and his gang away from everyone, but then two guys from Goda's gang pulls the two girls back into the fight. Hinako turned and punched the guys who was holding the badly beaten Matsukata. He quickly got up and punched her back. Izumi tried to kick the other guy away from Matsukata's crew, but he grabs her foot making her fall back. Before he could even kick or even punch her, two police officer ran up to the scene, which stops the fight and making Goda angrier.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

The girls stood as Goda and his gang ran away. Goda took one last look at both the girls then took off running. The two officers shined their flashlights on the gang of eight.

"You guys…are Akadou students, right?"

This was just great. The eight knew that they were going to hear about this in the morning. However, tomorrow morning was another day. Tomorrow morning was reality…

The next morning, the group of eight arrived to find everything for the festival all smashed up and completely destroyed. Banners were marked up and ripped from where they hung; stands that were set up for the day were smashed into bits.

"Excuse me." Yankumi's voice announcing her arrival to other boys from other classes. "Sorry, make way." Soon she made it to the front and stood before the ruins of 3-D's work and her eyes grew wide in shock. Then the gang of eight ran up behind Yankumi to see the hall that leads to Class 3-D was hit the hardest and got the most damage. It was a devastating sight. Nothing had been spared in this attack on the school; everything that everyone had spent weeks working hard to creating things for the festival was destroyed completely, vandalized and broken beyond repair. As they took in this sight, Hinako couldn't help but let her shoulders slack and got a small feeling of defeated weigh down on her. This was a mess…

"What the heck is this!" Ren growled.

"It's them." Yamato growled.

"Them?" Yankumi turned to the eight and saw their faces. "Why are you guys injured?"

They didn't say anything in the hall. So, they went to the classroom, where they explained everything to her about Goda and his gang last night.

"I see. So it was Goda."

"Yeah." Ren nodded. "Goda messed Matsukata's crew up."

Yankumi looked at them, covered up in all kinds of bandages.

"They do awful things." One guy said.

"This is unforgivable." Another said.

"Why did they get everyone else involved?" Kura asked. "It was a fight between us."

"The others are not involved." Kamiya shook his head.

"It's us that pissed them off." Ichi sighed.

"Damn it!" Honjo kicked a chair.

"They'll pay for this!" Ren yelled out as he and the other five boys started to leave, but Yankumi stopped them.

"Where are you guys doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious?!"

"What's the point of retaliating?!" Izumi shouted at the boys.

"It's our fault that this happened." Yamato replied. "We can't do nothing about it!"

"So will you guys just neglect the school festival then?" Hinako said as she felt tears in her eyes.

"What's the point, Hinako?!" Kura yelled at her.

"It's just a festival!" Ichi added. "Just like every year!"

"Well, it's not "just" a festival to me and Izumi this year!" Hinako yelled back, which shocked all the 3-D boys a little bit. "We all came together to do this! We're starting to make memories and having fun! and now you're going to toss it all away like it's nothing?! Who knows how long if any of us will do this again! After all, it's our last year of high school. But if you want to go fight, then go ahead! But I'm staying and doing the festival with or without you boys!" Hinako wipes the tears from her eyes and went over to pick up some of the desks, with a little help from Yankumi.

"Hinako is right!" Izumi spoke up. "You boys finally came together and you all did your very best to get this point. So, don't just throw it away because of this! Don't let that Goda or anyone else ruin our fun here!" With that said, Izumi walked up to both Hinako and Yankumi to help them out, while the 3-D boys just stood there watching the three. Then the door opened and walked in was Sawatari along with Yajima-sensei.

"Yamaguchi-sensei. The Superintendent is calling for you." He turned to the six boys. "Yesterday it seems a big fight broke out. We were notified by the authorities."

Yankumi went to the office with Sawatari and Yajima-sensei. The girls stopped straightening and just sat down. No one said anything else for quite a while. Honjo was the first person to speak.

"I wonder if…they'll cancel the school festival."

"If that happens, it means it's all our fault." Kamiya said, sadly.

Hinako stood up and started to walk out of the classroom.

"Hinako, where are you going?" Izumi asked.

"To make sure they won't cancel the festival."

"I'm with you, Hinako."

With that said, both girls walked out of the classroom and to the office. After that, Yamato and Ren followed as well as the rest of the boys of Class 3-D. When they got to the door, they saw both the girls huddled outside of the faculty room, listening to the conversation between Yankumi and the Superintendent…

"Yamaguchi-sensei." The stern woman addressed Yankumi. "As for class 3D, tell them to all go home and await orders."

When Yamato heard that, he grabs the door was about to open it, but Hinako stops him by grabbing his hand and shook her head to him.

"All of us?" Izumi said as she and her classmates continued to listen.

"Please wait." Yankumi pleaded, but the chairman would not hear any of it.

"As a class, they are collectively responsible." Her face was stern as ever she laid it out plain and clear for the pig-tailed woman to understand: if one tripped, everyone fell.

"Wait a moment." Yankumi pleaded again. "Goda, a former graduate, picked a fight with them. They only fought to save their friends."

"Whatever the reason." The chairman raised her voice a level to overpower the pig-tailed teacher making her to quiet down, so she could go in. "It is a fact that they're responsible for causing this commotion, right?"

"I am truly sorry for this trouble." Yankumi said. "But everyone is coming together as a class for this school festival to accomplish a common goal. As their homeroom teacher, I want to see it accomplished."

"Yamaguchi-sensei. It can't be helped since they caused such a big commotion." Sawatari said being persisted. But Yankumi didn't seemed to care that he said this.

"Those guys don't have any memories of their high school days." Yankumi said, in a calm voice. But her expression was a sad one. "That's goes for the girls too. Isn't that disappointing? I want them to graduate proudly and be happy they came to this school."

There was a long pause in the room and still the chairman never seemed to change her expression or her decision. Yankumi could feel her frown growing as she stared into the hard face of the chairman; 3D would really have to go home…there was just no convincing the chairman.

Then Baba-sensei timidly took a step forward.

"It's okay, isn't it?" He said. "To let them participate."

"Yes, that's right." Ayukawa-sensei backed up Baba-sensei.

"Hai." Takano-sensei nodded her head as well.

"Onegashimasu!" Yankumi dropped forward in a bow that made her body a perfect 90-degree angle, Baba-sensei was quick to follow and soon so did Ayukawa-sensei and Takano-sensei. It just took only a moment before the chairman eventually responded with a sigh.

"If anything happens, Yamaguchi-sensei…" She spoke up earning the stares of Yankumi. "I'll hold you responsible." The stern woman took time to stare Yankumi in the eyes making her understood before turning away from them and heading towards her office.

"Hai!" Yankumi stammered out but spoke enthusiastically. "Arigatou gozaimasu!"

After that, Yankumi went back to the classroom and slid open the door, and she was surprised of what she saw. The boys were already starting on the repairs of their café. To her right, posters were being repaired on the floor before being handed off, so they could be rehanged. To her left, the tables were being untangled from the mess they had been made into and set back in their original place where new table cloths are being placed even their silly waiter dummy was slowly on his way to being reconstructed the whole sight.

"You guys…" Yankumi marveled at the sight as well stepping into the room.

"We're participating, right?" Yamato questioned from here he stood, stationed as one of the boys who were hanging up the repaired posters.

"We don't have time." Ren remarked.

And he was right, of course. They don't have time to stand there and marvel at 3D's enthusiasm.

"Ah."

Yankumi steps in and help out the best she could, and just like that, everyone in Class 3-D have moved on from the morning's tragedy. They weren't going to let Goda ruin their fun.

But trouble never seems to end for the gang of eight when Yamato's phone let off a strong vibrate earning his eyes; the air immediately became tense around him. Yamato pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the ID. Then, Hinako noticed Yamato walking out of the classroom with his phone in his hand and with her curiosity she followed him. Ren and Izumi noticed Hinako following Yamato out of the classroom.

"Where are they going?" Izumi heard Ren speak calmly, from behind her.

"I don't know. But I think we need to find out." Izumi answered as she and Ren followed them.

Hinako followed Yamato and it didn't take her long to find him standing by himself in an empty hall in front of the school entrance area. "Hello." Yamato answered his phone.

"How did you like my remodeling job?" Someone asked him from the other end.

"So it was you, after all." Yamato said while sighing.

"But you're still holding the festival, I heard." Goda's voice echoed from his cellphone, making Yamato feel all worried and uneasy. "Don't think it's all over."

Yamato glared as he hung up his phone. He knew Goda was getting ready to attack the school as well as ruined the festival once again, and Yamato wasn't going to let that happen no matter what. He had to go and face Goda and his gang.

"That was Goda…wasn't it?" Hinako starts to speak taking Yamato by surprise. He turned around to see her standing there. Silence fell again as he nodded to her. Hinako had a feeling that Yamato was about to do something stupid by his stupid self. "Don't think you're going by yourself to face Goda and his gang, are you?" Hinako gazed at him, made Yamato surprised.

"I'm coming with you." Hinako announced with pride. "If you like it or not." She delivered a slight jab to the side of Yamato's temple jerking his head back a bit, which made him glared through a slight smirk. He knew there's no way to stop the fearless Hinako.

"Just don't over do it…" He tells her.

With that said, Hinako and Yamato both walked toward the entrance door, when suddenly both Ren and Izumi closed their way by standing in front of them.

"Tsk…" Ren sucked his teeth as he smiled. "Don't try to act cool."

"You both can't handle him alone, can you?" Izumi added.

"Yeah…" Yamato honestly and proudly admit it. Hinako was surprised because that was the first time she heard him admitting that he needs help to face someone.

"We're going too!" A familiar voice yelled out which belonged to Honjo.

Yamato and Hinako turned around to see Honjo, Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya appeared.

"We have to go." Ichi added as he and the other three boys gave them a thumbs-up.

"You guys…" Hinako mumbled as she smiled at them.

"Let's go!" Ren said as he smiled.

And just like that, the gang of eight went to face Goda, as one. But before they even reach Goda, four of their classmates saw them leaving the school, then notified Yankumi. She wasted no time calling Yamato only to find out that the group of eight are going to prevent Goda and his gang from ruining the festival. After that, they reached Goda's warehouse after some time. They rushed inside to see Goda and his gang of what looked like twenty or so ready to go, with metal pipes in their hands. Izumi, Ren, Yamato, and Hinako stood in the middle. Kura and Ichi were standing to their right while Honjo and Kamiya were standing on their left.

"What's with you guys?" Goda questioned looking them over and taking note of how many of 3D had shown up. "A raid with only 8 of you?"

"These guys are really stupid, aren't they?" A guy behind Goda remarked, and of course the rest of them responded with a snicker or even a laugh. But you can't blame them for laughing, I mean, 8 against 20 or so were not very good odds even for guys like Yamato and Ren, but still none of them moved or said anything back to the taunting and the laughing.

Then, Goda spoke as his gang quickly quieted down so he could speak to the eight.

"You coming all this way…saves us the trouble."

"You're only pissed at us, right?" Yamato commented, calmly. "Don't drag the others into this."

"It doesn't matter what happens to the school, does it? It's pointless to go to that school."

"It's not pointless!" Ren yelled out. "School just started becoming interesting."

"I've always been embarrassed about attending Akadou." Ichi admitted. "But it's different now."

"It's kinda fun going there." Kura stepped forward.

"For me too." Kamiya agreed.

"I feel the same way." Honjo nodded.

"We feel that we can find something worthwhile there." Yamato jumped in with a snarl. "So, we won't let you guys get in the way of that!"

"What did you say, you bastard?!" Goda growled as he started to get angry and pissed.

"We won't let you get close to Akadou!" Both the girls yelled out at the very same time.

"What kind of BS is this?!" Goda yelled out as he and his gang charged towards the eight.

The gang of eight charged too and the warehouse echoed with their loud yells and their thunderous footsteps until both parties clashed in the center and the brawl began…

Although the fight seemed unfair, since Goda and his gang have outnumbered the eight students. Each of them had to deal with three or more goons, but the eight were still able to fight back. Though the outcome now was not a fight anymore, it was now a beating and from both Hinako and Izumi's point of view it felt like it went on for hours. Then Hinako saw Goda punching Yamato to the ground.

"Gimme that!" Goda said as one of his thugs gave him a metal pipe and held Yamato down, helplessly to his feet.

"Yamato!" Hinako screamed from the top of her lungs.

Just when Yamato was about to get a critical hit by Goda, a voice rang throughout the warehouse and stopped all who heard it.

"Don't you dare touch my students!"

Silence followed and thank the heavens the beating stopped as well, Hinako struggled for a second, but she did raise her head and saw it was none other than her homeroom teacher Yankumi.

"What is this?" Goda turned so he was facing Yankumi. "A teacher?" He took a step away from Yamato while the rest of his goons followed suit dropping their victims and making the slow march towards the lone woman. Hinako grunted slightly as she and Izumi were both thrown to the ground on their sides and left to cradle their wounds. Also, thanks to the distraction, Yamato and Ren went over to the girls to check and make sure they were alright.

"You've been…extremely affectionate with my students, haven't you?" Yankumi said, quietly took in the damage of her eight students and huffed out a slight laugh despite her serious expression.

"Why would a teacher come here of all places?" Goda questioned slinging the pipe in his hand over his shoulder leisurely.

"I would go anywhere to protect my students." Yankumi responded confidently.

"The students are stupid, so is the teacher." Goda replied, sourly.

"Go home!" As expected, before she could get even close to arms reach of Goda, one of his goons charged towards Yankumi and she…as always…dispatched him without even blinking.

"Do you guys understand what they're protecting?" Yankumi questioned Goda and his gang.

"What nonsense are you saying?"

"Don't mess with us!"

A couple more thugs attacked her, they switched to their smarter tactic which was to tag team her but as usual Yankumi didn't have any problem with that either quickly, and they all ended up on the floor beside their buddy.

"What they're protecting is the high school memories of 30 people!" Yankumi said as more thugs attack her, while Ren and Yamato held both Izumi and Hinako closer to themselves. Once she took them all down, she continued to speak. "The eight of them marched here for them…" The rest of Goda's goons, expect for Goda himself, attacks her. But when she was done taking them all down, she finally turned to Goda. "You guys have no right to call them stupid!"

Yankumi and Goda stood at arm's length of each other staring one another dead in the eyes just waiting for the other to make the first move. They stood like this for just a second until suddenly the rest of Class 3-D ran in and making their entrance; crowding the big warehouse doors with their sheer numbers. Now Goda and his goons were outnumbered, and they could tell just by the way a number of them scrambled to their feet upon seeing the Akadou students. It took only the 3-D boys half a second to take it all in with the scene before them, seeing their 8 classmates before they look at Goda's goons.

"You bastards!" One of the 3-D boys snarled.

"You've done more than enough!" Another one declared. With that, they charged towards them.

"Don't you guys dare get involved!" Yankumi demanded as she glare at them and the look sent them all skidding to a halt, those in front of the large class quickly held out their arms to slow down and stop those behind them; Goda's goons this opportunity to all scramble as well as stumble to their feet and beat a hasty retreat running for any door or exit they could find, that includes leaving and abandoning their leader to face Yankumi alone.

"Goda. Why are you so unhappy?" She asked.

"Why don't you shut up?!" Goda roared out in protest not even bothering by attacking her.

Yankumi quickly duck from Goda's swing before stumbling away from him to keep some distance between the two of them. "Do you have some grudge against school?" She questioned him again.

"Yeah, I do!" Goda yelled out. "After I got out of that useless school nothing has gone my way!"

As he continued to attack Yankumi again and again, she kept dodging. "Don't use that as an excuse to run away from reality."

"Shut up!"

Goda continues the fight by attacking Yankumi again, but she quickly hits him right in the stomach knocking all the air right out of him and he hits the ground.

"Listen, Goda." Yankumi spoke not for a second deterred by the glare he sent her. "School isn't just a place that you go to, to study what's written in your textbooks. You make friends, you laugh with them, you fight with them, and accomplish something together. There's dozens of lessons to be learned. But…if you don't look forward, nothing will ever begin." She looked at the eight. "These guys are just starting to learn what's important at Akadou now."

"Like memories…" Hinako whispered, making Yamato smiled.

Then Yankumi approached Goda and kneeled down before him so their eyes met. "You should also live your life looking forward."

With that said, Goda didn't glare anymore; his face was calm yet blank, so it was hard to tell if he was taking the words spoken to him seriously. He took in a deep sigh before heaving himself back to his feet. Without saying a single word to anyone, Goda dug both his hands into the pockets of his jacket and calmly walked out of the warehouse through a back door. Goda didn't want to raid on Akadou after that. (And they won't be the last time they'll see him).

After that, Class 3-D ran to the gang of eight.

"Geez, guys. Everyone of you always does thing your way…" Yankumi smiled.

"We couldn't keep still." One of the boys laughed.

"The Akadou festival would mean nothing if all of us weren't there." Another boy explained.

"Sorry if we worried all of you." Izumi said as she smiled.

"What're you sayin'? C'mon, get up."

Once the eight got on their feet, Yankumi spoke again.

"Alright, guys! Let's go back to school and enjoy the Akadou festival!"

"Oh!"

When they got back to the school, morning have away to mid-day and soon the Akadou festival was finally in full swing. The girls tended the boys with their wounds. Once they were done, Izumi went to help the boys get changed. Expect for Yamato. He grabs Hinako's hand and then led her to a chair in a corner of the room.

"Sit here."

Hinako sat down as Yamato walked off and got the first-aid kit. Then, he knelt down and started to apply the medicine. He check and treats the wound on her head.

"Is my wound bleeding badly?" Hinako questioned keeping her head down but hissing in pain where she felt the sting of rubbing alcohol.

"Gomen…" Yamato said as he set the slightly redden cotton ball down next to the other ones that he used to clean her up and reached for a paper towel to clean off anything that might be there. "Don't worry, the bleeding stopped." He confirmed. "You'll be fine."

"Damn that Goda and his goons for getting us these wounds!" Hinako went on to grumble lifting her head and gently rubbing at the back on her head.

"So…are you alright?" Yamato asked as he tried to be very casual about the situation after looking the bloody cotton balls on the table beside him. "Do you have any other wounds I need to check?"

"No, I'm fine." Hinako smiled. "Thanks to you."

"Good." Yamato replied as he smiled. "Because I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again."

"Huh?" Hinako's eyes widened when she noticed that Yamato's face becomes serious.

"I said I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again! And I mean it too!" Yamato said as he look at her straight in the eye.

"Yamato…"

"From now on, I'll walk you to and from school. If you ever want to be alone, I'll stay at a distance. But I'll have my eyes on you. Whenever you go on a walk alone, I'll come to keep you company."

"Ok, now you sound like one of those creepy stalkers."

"I'm not kidding, Hinako!"

"I know you're not." Hinako took Yamato's hands into her own hands. "Don't let what just happened today affect you like this. I'm okay, I promise you that. Stop worrying…"

"Okay." He smiled. "But I'm still walking home, ok?"

"Arigatou, Yamato-kun." Suddenly out of the blue, Hinako kisses Yamato on the forehead, which made his eyes widened. "Now you get going, customers will be arriving real soon."

"Alright, then." Yamato smiled.

After that, Hinako and Izumi spent most of their time parading around outside in cute Maid outfits and they hold up two big signs for people to go to the Hottie Café by stealing potential customers from two male teachers as well as Takano-sensei, much to her displeasure, eventually the two girls ran into Yankumi and together, they decided to check on their 3-D boys and see how they're doing.

"You two shouldn't tease Takano-sensei like that." Yankumi mused watching with a hint of amusement as both Hinako and Izumi chuckled on about how red Takano-sensei's face with anger less than 10 minutes ago when she just had to watch a large group that was following her, saw the two girls and run after Hinako and Izumi.

"It's all in the fun." Izumi shrugged not bothered by it at all. "Right, Hinako?"

"Yeah, I believe Takano-san will be fine." Hinako added. "She can't stay mad forever."

Yankumi turned her attention away from the girls to take in Yamato who is sitting on the desk alone in the hall, and she walked up to him.

"Hey, how's it going? Any customers?"

For an instant, Hinako and Izumi feared that no one had shown up but then he grinned and motioned to the door by pointing to it.

"Look for yourself."

Yankumi didn't waste any time sliding the door to the classroom open to see what was within. "Oh!" She smiled at the overly crowded room full of people of all ages and genders smiling at tables, talking loudly and most of all showing their joy to the students of Class 3-D. It had paid off; all of their hard work has met a beautiful and perfect end.

"No female high school students and college students came." Honjo huffed as the rest of his friends came over to them, while at the same time Yamato and the girls stepped into the room.

"Even though they said they would!" Kura whined.

"Girls are liars…" Ichi cried on Kamiya's shoulder, while Kamiya nodded and looking saddened that none of the girls he thought he charmed into coming didn't showed up. Hinako and Izumi glared at Ichi when he said that. "Expect you two girls!" Kamiya quickly said, which made both the girls smiled.

"But this will become a fond memory!" Hinako commented as she smiled. "Don't you all agree?"

Yankumi nodded in agreement and Izumi couldn't help but hum in agreement as well. And Hinako was right. This was one of those things you fondly looked back at ten years from now or even twenty years from now.

"Yeah, you're right." Yamato said as he smiled.

"I guess it's okay." Ren said as he smiled as well.

Yankumi started to laugh as she looked around the room, but then stop when she saw someone familiar who is a certain doctor, sitting at one of the tables in the back.

"Natsume-sensei!" Yankumi's face lit up like the sun. "You came!" She raced across the room to speak with her 'destined one' to which both Hinako and Izumi rolled their eyes at.

"You boys did a good job on this café!" Hinako praised her boys as Izumi nodded in agreement.

"So, does that mean Hinako and I can send more people your way?" Izumi asked.

"Bring it on!" The six boys shouted.

"Alright!" Izumi replied as she chuckled at the enthusiastic response.

"I'll get our signs from the hallway." Hinako said as she walked into the hallway to get them.

While waiting for Hinako, Izumi stood with the boys and watch Yankumi and Natsume-sensei for just a moment. "What would you like to order?" Yankumi asked.

"How about some iced coffee?" Natsume-sensei replied after looking at the menu.

"Sure!" She did a pose. "No problem!"

When she turned get Natsume's order, she accidentally bumps into Ren who was carrying a strawberry cake. The cake went flying off the pan towards Izumi and the five boys. They dodge it. However, when Hinako came into the room and saw the cake, there was a loud yell of surprise followed by the splat of the frosty cake hitting Hinako in the face. Hinako became the unfortunate victim of the projectile cake. The whole front of her cake was covered in frosting, there were strawberries in her hair, when the cake had hit it seemed to have exploded for big chunks of cake were splattered all of her maid outfit. Poor Hinako stood there stunned probably not sure how to respond to what just happen to her. Everyone in that room looked in shock, and then they all slowly turned to Yankumi. (Including Hinako who pointed to her).

"Opps…" Yankumi gave a slight smile.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Hey, everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy with some back-to-school stuff. Anyway, this is my longest chapter yet and it also introduces Goda Ryuji who is an Akadou alumnus with a notorious reputation. (We will see Goda again later in the story, eventually).**

 **Hinako has a part-time job at a Maid Café, well eventually learn why she has a job. And also, Hinako gets a cake to the face. (Sorry Hinako!) I just thought it would be funny for this Episode 7. Because I always imagined one of the boys would get a cake in the face. Until next time, see you soon and bye, bye for now!**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

' **Arigatou' means 'Thank You' in Japanese.**

 **Irasshaimase means 'welcome to our shop/restaurant'. Most shops/restaurants will say this as you enter their establishment, but at restaurants, they often shout it out in unison.**

 **Hot Ramen Soup is based on comedian Kano Hidetaka's narcissistic alter ego. The phrase is: "Ramen tsukemen," followed by "Boku ikemen."**

 **Maid cafés are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafés, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and treat customers as masters (and mistresses) in a private home, rather than as café patrons.**

 **Cultural festival in Japan are annual open day events held by most schools, from nursery schools to universities at which their students display their artistic achievements. People who want to enter the school themselves or who are interested in the school may come to see what the schoolwork and atmosphere are like.**


	12. Episode 8

Episode 8: Become stronger! The birth of a new life!

Hinako and Izumi were walking to school together and noticed that it was a beautiful sunny day. Izumi thought if she was a girly-girl, she would have skipped school. That's what Hinako was thinking too, personally and secretly. The girls were almost there to the school when they both saw Yankumi, who is walking up ahead of them.

"Yankumi!" Izumi shouted as she and Hinako run up to her.

Yankumi looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at the two girls. "Ohayou, girls!"

"Ohayou, Yankumi!" Izumi smiled.

"Ohayou." Hinako added as gives a little nod and smile.

"You two are sure in a very happy mood this morning." Yankumi commented.

"Well, of course." Izumi replied. "I mean, it's such a nice day. Bright and sunny."

As they walked closer to school, Hinako noticed that Yankumi was carrying a bag, a big white bag. "What's in that bag?" She asked. "A bunch of math papers?"

"Huh? No, it's just baby stuff." Yankumi smiled.

"Oh baby stuff…eh?!" Hinako and Izumi looked at her in shock.

"Yankumi, don't tell us that you're…" Hinako said.

"No, I'm not pregnant." Yankumi replied by laughing and the girls sighed in relief. "It's for a former student of mine. You two know him, Kumai-san…"

"That was my second guess." Izumi added.

"Now that you mention it…" Hinako said, thinking. "Kumai-san and his wife Ami-san are both expecting a baby soon."

"Oh yeah…" Izumi added. "I nearly forgot about that."

"And I'm excited!" Yankumi said, with a big smile.

A few inches away on the hill, the six boys were walking to school together, until Ren noticed Yankumi and the girls walking to school together as well.

"Look." Ren pointed to the three. "It's Yankumi and the girls."

The rest of the boys paused in both walking to look ahead and sure enough it was them.

Honjo was the first speak up. "Hey, let's scare them a bit."

No one was about to disagree with that idea, it would be a fun way to start what was going to be another dull day at school.

"Let's go!" Kura smiled.

"Yay!" Ichi added.

Hurrying off the glass and onto the road pathway where Yankumi and the girls still walking on. The six tiptoed as they carefully sneak up behind the three, quietly. They could only hope of getting the jump on Yankumi and the girls by scaring the daylights out of them.

Closer…closer…

But just as they were about to get within touching distance, Yamaguchi suddenly tripped over her own feet and falling hard to the ground, dropping everything, including her book and the large white bag she carried in the process. The boys stopped quickly and covered their mouths as they just smiled or laugh softly at Yankumi's clumsiness, while at the same time the girls knelt down to helped her.

"Thank you, girls." Yankumi smiled.

All of the boys' jaws just dropped when they saw what fell out of the bag and the title of the book that Yankumi was reading.

As Hinako placed the items back in the bag, until she felt like they were being watched. The boys quickly scrambled back into the grass, ducking behind bushes. When Hinako looked from behind them, but no one was there.

"What's wrong, Hinako?" Izumi asked while picking up the items.

"I thought there was someone behind us…but I guess not." Hinako replied. Then she shook the feeling off and turned back to Yankumi and Izumi.

The six boys poke their heads out to make sure they actually saw was what they thought just saw. They had and it was even worse. Yamato could easily see those baby clothes, including a rattle in Hinako's hands before she could carefully return it into the bag Yankumi dropped.

"Did you just see that?" Yamato asked.

"Yeah." The five boys said as they all nodded their heads.

"It said 'Your First Baby'." Ren jumped in.

"Yeah." More nodding.

"You wouldn't read a book like that just for fun." Honjo started to speak.

"It doesn't have anything to do with math lessons." Ichi said.

"She even had baby clothes." Kura commented.

"A rattle too." Kamiya added.

"You know what this means." Yamato said as he looked to Ren with wide eyes.

"Could it be…" Ren said as his face paled.

"She's pregnant!" The six boys shouted as they turned around.

With that said, they covered up their mouths and took off running. What they didn't know was Takano-sensei and Baba-sensei were on the other side of the bushes, who overheard what the boys said just now.

"Did you just hear that?" Takano-sensei said. "They said that Yamaguchi-sensei is pregnant!"

Baba-sensei didn't want to believe it. "No way. It's got to be mistake." With that said, they took off running to the school.

"Man, Yankumi…what did you do? Buy the whole store?" Izumi joked, after helping to get all the items in the bag.

"No, but I think Kumai-san and Ami-san might need the whole store. After all, taking care of a baby is a lot of work." Yankumi said as she and the girls stood up. "You two know what I mean when you two girls will have babies on your own."

Both Hinako and Izumi were blushing just thinking about that. Hinako thought about herself and Yamato getting married and having a baby of their own. She shook her head just thinking about it.

"Hey, Yankumi let me carry that for you." Hinako suggested as she quickly grabbed the bag. "So, that way if you fall down again, we won't have to pick it all up again."

"Good idea." Yankumi replied as she smiled.

The three walked into school. When they got to the office, Izumi just stood inside the office by the door while Hinako went inside the office with Yankumi so she could put the bag under Yankumi's desk for her. When they entered into the office, Hinako noticed that the teachers were acting very strange and of course Yankumi didn't even notice.

"Ohayou." Yankumi said as she entered the office. Followed by Hinako.

Hinako went over to Yankumi's desk and put the bag under her desk. After that, Hinako notice that Sakura-san was pushing Sawatari toward Yankumi's direction.

"Is something wrong?" Yankumi asked.

"Um…"

Yankumi looked at Baba-sensei who was sitting on the ground looking all depressed. "What's wrong Baba-sensei? You look like your life is over."

"Of course my life is over." He sniffed.

"Huh?"

"Yamaguchi-sensei, I have a question." Sawatari said, bring her attention back to him.

"What is it?"

"Preg…"

When he said that, that's when Hinako knew why they were acting so strange. Even Izumi notice. The teachers were acting just like them when they thought Yankumi was pregnant. But they want to know how they got that idea? Maybe they overheard their conversation and didn't get the whole thing. Anyway, Hinako shrugged as she walked over to Izumi and they watched the whole scene in amusement. Yankumi picked up a box off her desk which made the teachers go crazy. Izumi and Hinako tried so hard not to bust out laughing.

"Yamaguichi-sensei, you shouldn't fit such a heavy thing at a time like this." Sawatari said.

"A time like this? If I don't move it, I can't do my job."

"You don't have to hide it." Aoi-sensei smiled.

"Um, I'm not hiding anything."

Suddenly Baba-sensei stood up and walked up to Yankumi. "Alright! Yamaguchi-sensei. I'm a man too. If it's for your happiness…" He took the box from her. "I'll give you up with good grace."

Izumi covered up her mouth as she tries so hard not to laugh.

Hinako just did a face-palm. ' _Good grief!_ ' She thought to herself.

Then the rest of the teachers said congratulations and started clapping, which made Yankumi even more confused than before.

"On what?"

Before anyone could answer her question, Kumai-san walked through the door. Hinako and Izumi immediately recognize him and realized that it was the same man they've met the time when Honjo accidentally kicked a can and it hit the back of Kumai's head.

"Hello! Kumai Ramen! I'm picking up your bowls."

"Good morning Kuma." Yankumi smiled. "Oh yeah. Kuma, here." Yankumi grabbed the bag of baby stuff from under her desk. "It's a bit early to celebrate, but…" He started looking through the bag. "Baby clothes, rattles and some other stuff."

"This is so cute!" He pulled one of the baby clothes. "Thank you Yankumi!" He gave her a huge smile.

The girls decided to make their presence known. "I think she brought everything that was in the whole store." Izumi first spoke up.

"At least, that's what she thinks." Hinako added, by being realistic.

Kumai-san turned to the girls. "Who are you?"

"These two girls are my students." Yankumi said. "This is Takaishi Hinako, and Sakurai Izumi."

"Oh, I remember! You're the girls that I've met the other night." He said. "Along with those six boys."

"Gomen!" The girls bowed.

"We didn't mean for that can to hit you behind the head." Hinako said, by looking up at Kumai.

"We apologize for that!" Izumi added, also looking up at Kumai.

"Gomen!" The girls bowed again.

"It's alright." He patted them both on the head. "You two should stop by the shop after school. If you want."

"Okay, we will be there." Izumi smiled.

"And congratulations on being a soon-to-be father." Hinako smiled.

"Thank you." Kumai-san smiled.

"Father? Celebrate?" Sawatari tilted his head in confusion.

"Ah, head teacher, Kumai's kid will be born soon." Yankumi stated.

"Kumai's kid?"

"That's right."

"Hold on a sec, so that means…Yamaguchi-sensei isn't pregnant." Yajima-sensei said.

"Huh?" Yankumi looked at the teachers in shock. "You didn't think I was pregnant by mistake, did you?"

Hinako and Izumi laughed, but eventually stop when Yankumi playfully hit Sawatari on the arm, making him clinch it in pain. "Oh, come on…" She said.

"Ow!" Sawatari said.

"Yikes." Yankumi said as she quickly turned to the girls. "Takaishi, Sakurai, let's get to class."

"Hai!"

Before the girls leave the office, they turned back to Kumai-san and bowed.

"Goodbye." Izumi said. "We'll see you right after school. And best wishes to you and Ami-san."

"Yes, best wishes to you and your wife." Hinako added. "See you after school."

"Okay, bye, bye. And thanks again."

Right after that, Hinako and Izumi walked with Yankumi to class. When they come up to the door to go in, Yankumi started to laugh. "Geez. Talk about jumping to conclusions…"

"I'll say…" Hinako commented.

"You said it." Izumi added.

They walked in. "Good morning!" Yankumi said.

"Congratulations!" The boys started cheering and throwing little pieces of different colored paper in the air like confetti. Hinako and Izumi stood there and looked completely speechless.

"Oh man, the rumor of Yankumi being pregnant has reached Class 3-D as well." Hinako whispered to Izumi.

"Looks that way." Izumi replied. "I mean, look at the board." The girls noticed that the 3-D boys and decorated the board. It said, 'CONGRATS YANMAMA.'

"Here, Yankumi." Ichi placed a chair with a big red cushion beside her. "Sit here!"

"You can sit during class from now on." Kura added, by brushing off a few pieces of the colored paper.

"Geez, even you guys?" Yankumi sighed.

The 3-D boys smiled and nodded. Hinako smiled at Yamato when she saw the small different colored pieces of paper in his hair, Izumi noticed that Ren had pieces of colored paper in his hair too, which made her smiled at him as well.

"I hate to disappoint you boys, but Yankumi is not pregnant." Hinako shook her head.

"Huh?!"

"Then if you're not pregnant…" Kamiya spoke up. "Then the baby stuff was for…" He first looked over at Izumi.

"Don't look at me! I'm not pregnant either!" Izumi said, with her eyes widened.

"Then…" Kamiya looked over at Hinako. Then he turned to Yamato and smiled. "Congrats, Yamato. I knew you would get Hina-chan pregnant." Hinako's eyes widened. The rest of the class (including Yamato) look at Hinako in shock.

"Baka!" Hinako went over to Kamiya and hit him in the back of the head. "I'm not pregnant either! It's the wife of Yankumi's former student who's expecting a baby."

"Yeah, you guys know…Kumai."

"Ah!" Ichi and Kura looked at each other.

"That reminds me…" Yamato spoke up. "Kumai-san said he was going to have a baby."

"He sure did." Ren said, feeling a little embarrassed by all of this.

"Man, it was a mistake?" One of the boys asked as the rest of the class groaned.

"I thought it was odd." Another boy added.

"Me too." Honjo agreed. "I mean, this is Yankumi we're talking about."

"Yankumi isn't married." Ichi pointed out.

"Getting married comes before having a kid." Kura added.

"But before that, she needs to find a man." Ren stepped in. "Right?" He turned to the five boys.

"It'll never happen." Yamato said as he laughed by waving his hand in front of his face.

Hinako and Izumi's six boys laughed before going back to their seats. When the girls saw the look on Yankumi's face, they stayed up front of the room, way out of the red zone. The rest of the 3-D boys noticed as well, and they grabbed Yankumi trying to keep her from killing the group of six. When the six boys looked up, Yankumi threw the other 3-D boys off of her with ease. Yamato and Ren started to sink in their chairs, Kamiya and Honjo both started to scream while Ichi and Kura clinged to each other in fear.

Yankumi walked towards them. "You guys get ready for a scolding!" She shouted.

"This won't be pretty…" Izumi whispered.

"Nope…" Hinako replied.

Right after school, the girls suggested that they should go to Kumai's Shop for some ramen. The six boys agreed. Somehow, Yankumi ended up tagging along with them as well. When they got there, they were greeted by Kumai-san and his wife Ami-san. They ordered their ramen and sat down at a table. Yankumi, Kura and Kamiya sat on the ends of the table, Hinako sat between Yamato and Honjo while Izumi sat between Ren and Ichi. Once Kumai-san brought their orders, Yankumi starts daydreaming about Kumai's child.

"I'm going to be a grandma soon." She sighed happily.

"Grandma?"

"A student is like a child." She explained. "So that student's child is like a grandchild."

"I see." Yamato said.

"Becoming a grandma before becoming a mom…" Ren starts to laugh.

"Don't even go there." Yankumi sent him a glare.

"My bad."

Kumai-san started talking to the baby into some weird-looking pink thing. "This is Yankumi. She's going to be your grandma."

Yankumi turned to him with a curious look. "What are you doing?"

"They say that talking to your child like this will help them feel at ease." Ami-san smiled.

Yankumi stood up and took the pink thingy from Kumai-san. "They've developed things like this recently?" She knelt down putting it to Ami-san's belly. "Hello. Good afternoon. I'm Yankumi."

As she talking to the baby, the gang of eight finished eating.

"Man, I stuffed myself." Honjo rubbed his stomach.

"The ramen here sure is yummy." Kura stretched.

"Hey!" Kumai-san pointed to Honjo. "It's not 'stuffed myself,' it's 'ate a lot'!" Then he pointed to Kura. "And it's not 'yummy,' it's 'delicious'." I don't want my child to learn language like that."

"There's no way he's going to learn that." Yankumi said, trying to calm Kumai-san down.

"He may not learn it, but it's bad for prenatal training." He argued.

"I see."

Suddenly the group of eight started to hear classic music. They looked around for the source and saw Kumai-san holding a little pink radio.

"What music is that?" Ichi asked.

"It's supposed to be good for the child." Kumai-san explained.

"Classical music in a ramen shop?" Kura raised an eyebrow at the seven and Yankumi.

"No way…" They waved their hands in front of their faces.

Ami-san went over to clean a table, but Kumai-san stopped her.

"Come on, I'll take care of stuff like this."

"It'll be fine." She smiled shaking her head.

"What would we do if something happened to the baby?" He argued. "Right? Take a break. Keep your body warm. Go lie down."

"Fine, fine." She replied.

"Don't forget to take this with you. Let the baby listen to it." He handed her the radio.

She nodded, took the radio and left. The group of eight and Yankumi couldn't help but smile.

"Alright then." Yankumi stood up. "I'm going to head out."

"Are you leaving already?" Kumai-san turned to her.

"I've got an appointment." She smiled at the eight. "It's like a date."

They laughed at her, like they were going to believe what she said.

"Don't try to look good." Yamato said.

"You're just going out for a drink, right?" Ren smirked.

Yankumi's face dropped. "I guess you could call it that too."

"That's the only thing it's called." Honjo pointed his toothpick at her.

"Sakura-chan and Aoi-chan will be there too." Kamiya pointed out.

"You have no chance, then." Ichi and Kura laughed.

"No chance at all!" Hinako and Izumi laughed.

"Mind your own business!" She glared at the eight.

They laughed as she left the shop. Once they stopped laughing, they paid for the ramen and left. Then later that day, they continue to laugh by getting back on the subject of Kumai-san's baby.

"Kumai-san sure seems like he's going to be a father that always worries." Ren observed.

"He'll be in trouble if it's a girl." Yamato added.

Hinako and Izumi narrowed their eyes at him. "What's that suppose to mean?" Izumi asked.

He ignored them as Honjo added another compliment. "He'll totally say something like, 'I'll never let you get married'!"

Suddenly Kamiya's phone started ringing. He pulled it out and smiled.

"A message from Haruka-chan?!"

"Huh?"

"Is Haruka-chan the Momo High girl from the hook-up party?" Ichi asked.

He nodded. "Alright then…" Kamiya opened his phone as Kura went over to him. "I want to see."

When Kamiya read the message, his face dropped.

"My mom…"

"What time will you be home?" Kura teased as he gives him a kiss on the cheek.

The rest of the gang laughed.

"She's so annoying." Kamiya complained.

"That's right, your mom does message you a lot." Yamato pointed out.

Kamiya looked across the street and glared. The others followed his line of sight to see a group of Ara High students. Yamato and Ren shifted protectively in front of Hinako and Izumi as they stopped and glared at them. The two groups of boys glared at each other for only a few minutes before the Ara boys walked on. Hinako rolled her eyes with Izumi.

"Well, I'm heading home." Hinako announced. "Ja ne." She starts walking ahead.

"OI!"

Hinako turned to see Izumi running up to her.

"I'll walk with you, I got to get home too."

"Then, come on." Hinako laughed. "See you boys later!"

"Ja ne!" Izumi said as she waved to the boys.

"Ja ne!" The six boys said as they waved as well.

Once they got to Hinako's apartment, they both said good-night to each other before going their separate ways. But later that night, Hinako didn't get much sleep.

The next morning at school, Hinako slowly made her way into the classroom and somehow cracked a smile on her face while waving to the 3-D boys and fell into her desk. Izumi leaned over to her.

"Are you okay, Hinako?"

"I couldn't sleep last night." She cried. "For some reason, my mind wouldn't shut off. And I didn't think I would make it to school this morning, because I thought I was sick with a fever."

Yamato stood up and walked over her desk, placing his hand on her forehead and placing his other hand to his forehead to make sure she doesn't have a fever.

"What are you doing?" Hinako asked, curiously.

"Checking to see if you have a fever." He said. "You felt normal…you don't have a fever." With that said, he returns to his desk, leaving Izumi, Ren, Honjo, Ichi and Kura speechless with his act.

Once Izumi snap out of it, she sighed and leaned over to Hinako. "You lay your head down and try to sleep." She whispered. "The boys and I will cover for you with Yankumi."

"Thank you…" Hinako replied as she laid her head down and closed her eyes.

Hinako fell into a deep sleep, but it didn't last long as she jumped up from a huge cheer broke out in the class.

"What's going on…?" Hinako sighed.

"Kamiya-kun announced another hook-up party." Izumi stated.

"Did their cheering wake you?" Yamato asked as he stretched.

Hinako didn't say anything. She just nodded tiredly.

"Go back to sleep." He replied.

Just when she was about to lay her head back down and go to sleep, Kamiya yelled out which made Hinako shot up again.

"Haruka-chan from Momo High agreed to a date with me!" He cheered. "I've been asking for a month. Now spring has finally come for me!"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration." Yamato commented.

"Okay, I got it!" Kamiya smiled. "I'll pass on this party, so someone can go."

The class cheered again. As soon as school was over, Kamiya left to meet up with Haruka-chan. Like they did when Kura has a girlfriend, the five boys decided to follow him. They ran out the door after Kamiya, but Izumi stayed with Hinako. Once Hinako didn't feel tired anymore, she along with Izumi followed the boys. However, once they walked to the spot where Kamiya was meeting up with Haruka-chan, the girls busted out laughing at what they found. The five boys were surrounded by a bunch of little kids wearing yellow hats.

"Do you five need help?" Izumi said as she walked up.

"Yes!" The boys shouted.

"Okay!" Izumi winked. "Excuse me, kids!" She called out by getting the kids' attention. "Why don't you go find your teacher? You don't want to worry her."

"Hai!"

The kids ran off.

"My heroes!" Kura came up and hugged both Hinako and Izumi.

"So, where's Kamiya and Haruka-chan?" Hinako asked as she looked around.

The boys dropped their heads.

"We kinda…lost them." Ren said.

"You lost them?!" Izumi yelled.

"It wasn't our fault!" Honjo exclaimed. "It was those kids' fault! They distracted us!"

"Blaming little kids…" Hinako crossed her arms. "Shame on you boys!"

The five boys dropped their heads lower. "Gomen…"

Later that day, the seven went to their usual hangout place. Hinako and Izumi played darts with Yamato and Ren while the rest of the boys just sat at a table just whining about not having girlfriends. Honjo, Ichi, and Kura were so jealous of Kamiya for having such a cute girlfriend. Even Ren was jealous. As for Yamato, not so much. Not so jealous…

After a while of playing a game of darts, Yamato's cellphone started ringing and he answered it. "Moshi moshi?" Then his face became serious. "We'll be right there…" With that said, Yamato closed up his phone and put it in his pocket.

"What's wrong?" Hinako asked.

"We have to get to the school." Yamato replied. "Kamiya got into some trouble during his date."

The seven ran to the school and they found Kamiya walking down a hall with a very depressing look on his face.

"Kamiya!"

He looked at them as they ran up to him.

"Hey, is it true a guy from Ara High beat you up?" Ren asked.

"What about your girl?" Ichi wondered.

After hearing that, Kamiya frowned. "She's not gonna go out with such a weak guy." He walked past them.

"Damn it…" Hinako whispered.

"That guy is going to pay!" Yamato tells him.

Kamiya stopped walking and turned to the seven. "Don't bother."

"Guys…"

Yankumi came up to the seven along with an older woman, who they assumed was Kamiya's mother.

"We heard about the trouble that Kamiya had with an Ara High guy." Honjo explained to her.

"It's not anything for you to fuss over." Kamiya stated.

"Don't say things like that." Kamiya's mother walked to him. "Everyone is worried about you."

"I don't need your concern." Kamiya rolled his eyes.

"Shunsuke. I'm very sorry." The woman bowed to the seven who waved their hands in front of their faces. After that, she grabbed Kamiya's hand. "Let's go home."

"You're annoying." He pulled away.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't treat me like a kid." He tells her.

"But you are a kid." Yankumi spoke up. Kamiya glared at her, but she ignored it. "After making your parents worry and bow their heads, you don't even apologize. And you think you're a full-fledged adult? How about staring with properly apologizing to your mother?"

"Yamaguchi-sensei, isn't that enough?" His mother asked.

"No, it's not." She argued. "Apologize."

"As if." Kamiya snapped.

"What?"

"It was that woman's decision to worry and bow her head." He barked.

"That woman?" Yankumi raised her voice. "What sort of crap are you saying to the woman who gave birth to you!?"

"I didn't ask her to have me!" He yelled back.

"You're already 18, you shouldn't be talking like such a kid!" Yankumi continued to speak.

"So, I'm a kid! I can't win a fight. I can't protect a woman by myself. I'm worthless!"

With that said, he started walking away. The seven went after him.

"Kamiya!"

"Don't follow me!"

They stopped and let him go. The very next day Kamiya didn't come to school. But later that day, Yankumi gets a call from Kumai-san saying he saw Kamiya, who was very upset. Worried, she tells the seven and they run out to find him. They eventually found him in a underground parking garage getting beat up by the Ara High guys that they saw the other day. The leader went to leave, but Kamiya grabbed his leg.

"I won't lose."

The leader kicked him off. "Get off my foot. Like I said earlier." He kicked Kamiya in the stomach. "You're too persistent. Come back when you're stronger."

The boys were about to go help Kamiya, but Hinako and Izumi stopped them by holding their arms out and blocked their path.

"Don't interfere." Izumi tells them.

"But!" Ren shouted.

"It's be okay…" Hinako said. "Yankumi will take care of this."

"Can you just leave it at that?" Yankumi said as she walked forward.

The Ara High boys turned to her.

"Who are you?" The leader raised an eye brow.

"I'm his homeroom teacher." She stated.

"A homeroom teacher?" They laughed, while Yankumi ignored it.

"You should back off." The leader smirked.

"I can't do that." Yankumi glared at the leader.

"I told you to back off!"

The leader went to punch her, but she caught his fist. He looked at her with shock and even fear.

"If you don't leave my student alone, you'll be sorry." She said in a low and dangerous tone.

The leader dropped his fist and ran away with his pals right behind him. The seven ran to Kamiya.

"Kamiya!"

Izumi knelt down to check his wounds. "Kamiya, are you okay? Can you get up? Let me check your wounds. I'll patch you up in no time."

Kamiya pushed her away. "Leave me alone, Izumi! Damn it! Damn it!"

"What are you doing?" Yankumi asked.

"Please…teach me how to fight." Kamiya began to stand. "I want to become strong so I can beat them!"

"There are other ways to win."

"Please teach me!"

"Unfortunately, I don't have any intention of teaching you that." Yankumi shook her head. "Come on, we're going back." As she walked away, Kamiya runs up to punch her. But she dodged it.

"Stop it!"

"I want to become strong!" She dodged his attack again and making him to the ground. "Because I'm weak, I couldn't protect my girlfriend. And I was made fun of by those Ara High kids. Even I have some pride!" He kept attacking and she kept dodging. "Damn it! I don't want to become a man like Kumai! Always bowing and scraping! I will never become that sort of man!"

Yankumi dodged making him fall to the ground again. "There's no way you could possibly become like that. You don't have any idea what Kuma was thinking when he was bowing his head."

"He's just weak!"

Kamiya got up and was about to attack again. But this time, Yankumi punched him right in the stomach shocking the group of seven. Kamiya dropped to the ground coughing. Yankumi continued to speak.

"It was to protect you, Ami, and the child inside Ami. So that you guys wouldn't be harmed, he bit his bullets and bowed his head. Can you put on an act like that? Can you eat those feelings of anger for someone's sake? In order to protect something important can you bow your head. It's not just Kuma. Your mom did the same thing."

"It doesn't concern my mom." Kamiya groaned. "She apologizes just to smooth things over, right?"

"That's not it!" Yankumi knelt down to look at Kamiya straight in the eyes. "It was for your sake. Because it was to protect you, she could do that. Kamiya, listen up Kamiya." She grabbed him softly to the jacket. "Fighting isn't the only way to protect that which is important to you. Become strong! Like Kuma or your mother. Someone strong who can protect the important things."

Judging by the look on Kamiya's face, Hinako and Izumi could tell that Yankumi's message sank in deep into his heart. "I…said some horrible things to Kumai."

There was a silence, but it was broken by Yankumi's phone vibrating. She stood up and answered it. "Ah, Kuma? Huh? The contractions have started?" She hung up and ran out of the garage. The gang of eight run after her all the way to the hospital. They went straight to the baby section where Kumai-san was standing at the door of the birthing room.

"Kuma!"

"Kumai-san!"

Kumai-san turned to the eight teens and Yankumi. "Yankumi. You guys."

"How is Ami-chan?" Yankumi asked.

A nurse came out and Kumai-san immediately began to ask questions.

"Um, how is Ami? And the baby?"

"It'll take some more time." She explained.

"Will it be okay!?" He raised his voice. "It's not the due date yet!"

"Everything's fine. It's nothing unusual." She reassured him.

The nurse walked away.

"But!"

"Calm down." Yankumi tells them. "I'm sure it'll be born safely."

"Right." Kumai calmed down. "Of course it will."

As the sun sets and the moon and stars came out, the group of eight and Yankumi were still waiting with Kumai-san for news of his wife and child. Kumai didn't sit down once. He just stood at the door praying. Hinako and Izumi were praying as well, while leaning against the wall between Yamato and Ren. Hinako slipped her into Yamato's. Yamato looked at Hinako who had a worried look on her face, and she smiled at her. Suddenly they all heard a baby's cry on the other side of the door. Kumai-san started crying. A nurse came out of the room.

"Congratulations. It's a healthy 6.5 pound girl."

"Congratulations, Kuma." Yankumi smiled.

"Congratulations!" The eight teens smiled as well.

"She's born." Kumai-san started crying harder. "She's born! I'm a father!"

"You sure are." Yankumi said. "You're a dad."

"I did it. I did it!"

"Kumai-san…" Kamiya stepped forward. "I didn't understand you at all." He started to cry as well. "I said all those horrible things. I'm very, very sorry." He bowed.

"No problem." Kumai-san said as he smiled and putting his hand on Kamiya's shoulder.

"Kuma, go and see Ami and your baby." Yankumi pushed Kumai-san towards the door.

He nodded and practically ran into the room to his wife and newborn daughter. After a few minutes of silence, Ren spoke.

"Somehow…giving birth to a child is amazing."

"Yeah." Yamato nodded. "I don't even know how to put it. It's amazing."

"It's totally wonderful." Izumi smiled.

"Like a new beginning of a new life." Hinako added.

"You guys were born like this too." Yankumi turned to the eight. "Whatever you do, don't forget that."

Hinako felt tears falling down her face. Like Yamato and Ren said, it's amazing. Later Yankumi and the eight teens left the hospital and went on home. The next day, Yankumi and Class 3-D was greeted by a very happy Kumai-san. He came to show off a picture of his new baby girl.

"Kawaii!"

"She looks just like Ami-san." Yamato commented as he smiled.

"In the future, she might be actress." Ren smiled.

"You think so too?" Kumai-san asked.

"Kumai-san, you should deny that." Honjo said.

"No way!" Ichi and Kura said.

"What a doting father." Yankumi nudged Kumai-san.

They all laughed and commented of how cute his baby girl is. Suddenly the door opened and walked in was Sawatari along with Yajima-sensei.

"Hey! What is going on here?" He asked.

"Quiet down, you guys!" Yajima-san added.

"Head teacher." Yankumi took the picture. "Look at this. It's Kuma's baby."

"Look." Kumai-san pointed to the picture. "Doesn't the nose look just like mine?"

"Ah, how sad." Sawatari said.

"What?" Kumai-san growled.

Sawatari reached into his jacket. "Kumai, take this." It was a congratulation present. "Get your wife something nutritious to eat."

"Thank you very much!" Kumai-san said as he took it and bowed.

"You of course don't need anyone nutrition." Sawatari joked.

"Right." Kumai-san replied.

"Head teacher, you have a soft spot, don't you?"

The whole class whooed teasing him.

"Shut up! Be quiet!"

"Don't be shy, Goro-chan!" Izumi yelled out making everyone laugh even harder.

Hinako took the picture from Yankumi and just smiled at the cute baby girl. "Cute…" She said. "Say, Yamato, maybe I want a baby of my own too." To Yamato's embarrassment, who just blushes and stammers, much to Izumi, Ren and the rest of the gang's amusement.

And just like that, things in Class 3-D went on as usual…

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **I've gotten an idea from Detective Conan OVA Magic File 4, I just knew I had to make a scene about it. For those who haven't seen the Magic File 4, you could go and see it on YouTube.**

 **Spoiler Alert for Detective OVA Magic Files 4: Heiji takes Conan to eat the famous Osaka okonomiyaki with him and invites Kazuha to come along. In the train station a young woman approaches them and asks Kazuha to hold her baby, Kaoru, while she goes to the bathroom. Kazuha immediately agrees, despite Heiji's protests. Heiji is angry at Kazuha until he sees her holding the baby. Heiji looks at her tenderly and comments on how good she is with babies. Kazuha then turns to Heiji and says very cheerfully: "Say, Heiji, I want a baby." To Heiji's embarrassment, who just blushes and stammers, and Conan's amusement, Kazuha remains oblivious at the cause of Heiji's awkwardness. I loved this moment so much I couldn't stop laughing the entire scene. I swear I thought I was gonna die laughing!**

 **Thank you for so much for reading! Please let me know what you thought via comments/PM! Thank you again! ^^**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

' **Kun' is referring to men in general, male children or male teenagers, or among male friends.**

' **Chan' is used for babies, young children, close friends, grandparents and sometimes female adolescents. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, close friends, or a youthful woman.**

' **San' is the most commonplace honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Although the closest analog in English are the honorifics "Mr.", "Miss", "Ms.", or "Mrs.", can be used in formal and informal contexts and for both genders.**


	13. Episode 9

Episode 9: Our friends are a lifelong treasure!

It was a typical day at Akadou Academy's Class 3-D as Hinako and Izumi were sitting in the very back of the classroom, behind the back row of desks with Yamato and Ren. Yankumi walked in and began writing on the board. It said: "Let's seriously think about college and careers."

"Um, next week we'll have college and career guidance sessions." She announced, while handing out papers to everyone in class. "I hope everyone will seriously think about their futures after graduating."

"Future? Whether to graduate…Either way it's a pain in the neck." Ren whined. "Say, do you wanna repeat school?" He turned to the other boys.

"Yeah, why not?" Kura turned to him. "I'd want Aoi-chan as my homeroom teacher!"

"Oh! I agree!" Kamiya added, as Ichi nodded in agreement.

"Alright!" Honjo stood up. "Everyone, let's stay back another year!"

As the class cheered, Izumi did a face-palm and shook her head. Hinako shook her head as well.

"Idiots…" Hinako mumbled.

"That's a bad idea." Yamato mumbled.

"It's not the time to be joking, guys." Yankumi frowned. "I hope everyone tries their best to graduate by cutting down on tardiness, leaving early, and absences. Many of you have dangerously low attendance already." With that said, Murayama's crew walked in with blank expressions on their faces. "Just as I say it, they're late." Yankumi added.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Hamaguchi, Yamamoto, Ohira, Murayama, Yoshida! Lately, you guys have frequently been late and absent." They didn't say much. Just shrugged her off.

"Yeah, yeah." Yamamoto said.

"Understood." Yoshida added.

"Geez…" Yankumi said. "Also, if you haven't submitted your future career survey, definitely submit it today."

"Future survey?" Honjo looked confused, as usual. "I didn't get anything like that."

"What do you mean 'get anything.' I handed it out last week."

"Maybe you skipped over me?" He asked.

"Honjo." Yamato called out.

"What?" Honjo turned to him.

Yamato pointed to Honjo's desk. Honjo checked inside and found the survey career paper all crumbled up.

"Oh, I, uh…got it."

"See!" The class laughed, expect for Murayama and his crew.

Right after school, later that day, the girls walked around in the downtown area with Yamato and Ren. They first went to the arcade, and then decided to go to their usual hangout place. They were heading there when suddenly, Yamato turned around and clinching his bag.

"What's wrong?" Hinako turned to him.

"I just got chills up my back." He replied.

"What do you mean?" Izumi laughed as she and Ren smiled.

For some reason, Ren looked across the street and saw some familiar faces. "Hey, isn't that Murayama's crew?" He asked.

The others looked where he was to see Murayama and his crew running up to a group of older guys.

"Who are they?" Hinako asked.

"Dunno…" The others shrugged.

The next day, a rumor was going around about the mysterious legend of Akadou Academy. It's a legend from a long time ago. Two students saw the bronze statue of the founder of Akadou standing in the middle of the hallway. This rumor made the 3-D boys tell stories of other rumors that they've heard in the past. Izumi joins them. Hinako sat away from them with Yamato, just wondering how Izumi and the boys made it to their last year of high school.

"I heard this story from an upper classman." Ren said, getting their attention. "When night comes, the hair of the bronze statue starts to grow."

"What I heard was…When night comes, the bronze statue's neck turns 180 degrees." Ichi added.

"That's scary!" Izumi reacted as the rest of the boys nodded.

"No matter how you see it, it sounds totally fake." Yamato said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, no kidding." Hinako nodded. "It's nothing, but a silly rumor."

Ignoring them, the boys continued telling their stories, and talk about the two students who saw the statue.

"But this time, a couple of juniors from the ping-pong club actually saw it."

"I heard the bronze statue walked…and stood right in the middle of the hallway!"

"Really? That's crazy!" The rest of the class start to freak out.

"That's really crazy!" A voice said.

Everyone looked at the door to see Yankumi standing there with an uneasy scared look on her face. "What does it all mean? A bronze statue walking…That's too scary!" She said.

"Huh? You're scared, Yankumi?" Ichi asked.

"Of course not!" Yankumi replied as she quickly puts on a brave face. "I was only trying to add on to your story. Did you think I was serious? I tricked you guys!" She tried to laugh it off.

"She was definitely scared." Honjo laughed.

"There's no way. No way." Yankumi continued to laugh. "There's no way that I would fall for such a simple childish story."

Suddenly the lights went out. Yankumi gave out a scream and ran out. The lights turned back on. They saw Kura holding up a scary green head.

"Oh? Did I overdo it?" He asked, making the class laugh.

"Good job!" His friends give him a thumb's up.

"Baka." Yamato mumbled.

"I totally agree." Hinako added.

Later, Ren explained that everyone was coming back to the school tonight, so they could find out if the legend of Akadou is true.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Hinako sighed.

"Don't worry Hina-chan." Kamiya put his hand of her shoulder. "Honjo and I will protect you."

"Thank you." Hinako smiled.

"And Ichi and I will protect Izu-chan." Kura said as he turned to Izumi.

"Thank you, boys." Izumi smiled.

"Hold on." Ren said. "Yamato and I are the leaders, we should be protecting our female leaders."

"How about the six of you protect me and Izumi?" Hinako suggested.

"Hai!" The boys said.

"Then, it's settled." Izumi added. "We will come back to school tonight…"

Later that night, class 3-D met in their classroom. Everyone brought their own flashlight. Including Hinako and Izumi. Hinako was sitting near Yamato at the front desks as Izumi and the others gathered around Ren.

"Is everyone here?" He asked.

They nodded.

"Are you ready?" He asked again.

They nodded again as Ren turned to Yamato.

"Hey, Yamato. Don't get scared and run away in the middle. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of the girls."

With that said, Yamato jumped up. "Who would run away?!"

"Shhh!"

"Hey, hey!" Ichi turned to Kamiya. "What's that?" He asked by whispering.

"Huh?" Kamiya replied. "It's to ward off evil spirits."

"No, no. I think it'll be useless." Ichi replied, who tries to be realistic.

Suddenly one of their classmates runs in with bags of food. "Sorry! I thought we would run out of snacks." He said as his classmates hit him on the head, telling him to be quiet.

"Alright, let's go." Yamato said as he lowered his voice.

Ren smiled as he put the flashlight to his face. "Operation Akadou Legend Investigation! Fight-oh!"

"Oh!"

With that said, they walked out of the classroom and down the hallway.

They got to the front where the bronze statue was supposed to be at, but it was gone.

"Is this real?" One of the boys whispered.

"It's really gone." Ichi whimpered.

"Does that mean that the bronze statue walked somewhere?" Honjo gulped.

"No way, that's impossible." Yamato said, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Then how would you explain it?" Izumi pointed to the where the statue usually stands.

Suddenly there was a very loud bang behind them. Everyone turned. Izumi gripped Ren's jacket. Even Hinako grips onto Yamato's jacket.

"What was that just now?" Honjo wondered.

"It couldn't be…" Kura whined.

They slowly made their way towards the sound. Yamato kept a protective hand on Hinako's hip the whole time, which causes her to blush. Ren hold on to Izumi's hand. They turned a corner and crowded together. The bang became footsteps, and it was coming their way. They crowded closer together and waited. When they saw a foot coming around the corner, the girls almost screamed along with the boys, but it was nothing scary. It was only one of their classmates.

"My bad, my bad." He laughed. "I drank too much juice, so I went to the restroom. Then, I couldn't stop going. It was like the juice was going right through me."

The boys yelled running up to him and hit him on the head for scaring them. The girls both sighed with relief. But it was too soon when they heard another bang. This time, it led them to the office. They crowded the red door and were about to open it when someone opened it on the other side. With that person saw them, he or she let out a scream making them yell as well. They stopped when the person ran back into the office.

"Hey, didn't that scream sound familiar just now?" Hinako asked, running into the office.

The others followed her by shining their flashlights on the person, who was crouched down right behind the teacher's desks.

"Yankumi?"

She turned to them with a surprised look on her face. "You guys! What are you doing here at this time?!"

"We came to see the walking bronze statue, that's what." Ren explained.

"It's just a rumor!" She yelled at them.

"But the bronze statue is really gone." Kura said.

"What?" Yankumi turned to them with a scared look.

Yankumi join class 3-D in walking down the halls of the school looking for the bronze statue. Thinking they would be safer with Yankumi, both the girls walked with her from the very back of the group. Hinako walked beside her on the right and Izumi walked beside her on the left, but they were wrong. The whole time Yankumi was trying to convince herself that the rumor wasn't true, and it was just that a rumor.

"A walking bronze statue? No way, no way. It's impossible."

They heard footsteps behind them. Yankumi and the girls turned. They were coming from around the corner that they've just passed. They slowly walked towards it. Izumi made sure Yankumi and Hinako were in front. They peaked around when suddenly the bronze statue's face appeared right in front of them. The three females screamed from the top of their lungs as Yankumi wrapped her arms around it's head and flipped it. The girls could hear the boys running back to them.

"Hinako!"

"Izumi!"

"Yankumi!"

The girls watched as some of the 3-D boys tripped over the statue and fell.

"Statue! Statue!" Yankumi kept shouting.

"Who is it?!"

Someone shined a flashlight in Yankumi's face. Including the girls' faces. It was none other than the school cop.

"What's wrong, Yamaguchi-sensei?" He asked.

Then he shined his light to the ground. Not only did they saw the bronze statue, but a man wearing all black. He had the statue tired onto his back. Another man was on the ground under some of the 3-D boys who just fell. The boys quickly got off him. Yankumi looked closely at the two men.

"Who are you?" She asked, curiously.

The next day, Sawatari called the whole class to the office and gives Yankumi a letter. But it was no ordinary letter.

"This is a thank you letter from the police department." He explained.

The letter said: 'Thank you letter to Akadou High School Academy Class 3D'.

"That's great!" Sakura-san smiled.

"You did it!" Aoi-sensei smiled.

"Wonderful!" Baba-sensei added.

"Thank you." Yankumi smiled.

"Wow!" Ren said as he grabbed the letter out of Yankumi's hands, so the rest of his classmates could see it better. "Okay, time for a picture, everyone."

Ren moved Izumi to the right and Hinako to the left in between him and Yamato and gave the girls the letter to hold towards the camera. Hinako hold one end of it while Izumi hold the other end. They smiled as the picture was taken. Everyone in Class 3-D was so happy.

"The culprit was a well-known school thief." Yajima-sensei explained.

"But it seems like he was only after metal." Hatoyama-sensei added.

"What a surprise! This is our greatest achievement since the school's foundation." Tsuruoka-sensei said.

"It's really an achievement." Yajima-sensei replied.

Sawatari turned to them. "That may be an exaggeration.

"It is an exaggeration."

"This really changes my view of those 3D guys." Baba-sensei commented.

Sawatari walks up to Yankumi. "By the way, Yamaguchi-sensei…"

"Yes?"

"Why were you at the school at that time?" He asked.

"I came to get my cellphone that I forgot." She replied.

Sawatari turned to class 3-D, which ruined their moment. "You guys. Why were you at the school at that time?" He asked.

Class 3-D paused.

"Um… Well, we came to…" Yamato pushed Ren forward to explain.

"…pick up our cellphones." Ren said as he copy Yankumi's excuse.

"And all of you came?" Sawatari interrogated them further.

"Well, I guess you can say that…" Ren pointed to Yamato.

"Yeah, yeah, that's right." Yamato nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah!" The rest of the class quickly agreed.

Luckily, Yankumi stepped in between them and Sawatari. "Head teacher Sawatari. The school can pass on giving a reward."

"There's no reward."

With that said, he walked away. So instead of the school giving them a reward, Yankumi brought them some food and drinks. Including a cake. And they celebrated as they raised their cups.

"Everyone got a cup?" Hinako asked.

"Yeah!" The class cheered.

"Ready, set…" Izumi said.

"Cheers!" Everyone cheered.

But the fun celebration doesn't last long when suddenly the door slammed open and walked in was Murayama and his crew.

"Hey, the late bunch." Ichi smiled.

"You guys are late." Kamiya added.

"What's this?" Yoshida-san asked.

"Ta-dah!" Ren said as he took the letter and showed it to them.

"Don't get shocked when you hear this." Kura smiled. "Yesterday, we caught a burglar at school! Yay!"

"It sorta just happened without warning." Yamato said as he and Ren glanced at the girls.

Hinako and Izumi pouted. They knew that those two boys were teasing them for screaming as loud as Yankumi when the three of them saw the bronze statue.

"This is the greatest achievement for Akadou." One of the boys said.

"Isn't it the coolest?"

"You guys should've been there too." Ren pointed at them.

"Seriously. It was really fun." Honjo nodded.

"Too bad you guys missed out." Kamiya patted one of their shoulders.

Murayama interrupted their cheering. "Either way, we don't really care."

"We're not kids, you know." Okuma-kun added.

"What's with that tone?" Izumi said as she and the 3-D boys started to glare at them.

Hinako and Ichi stepped in trying to keep peace in the classroom.

"Now, now, now." Ichi smiled at Murayama and his crew. "Let's toast for now."

"Good idea, Ichi. Here you go." Hinako said as she tries to give Murayama a cup of juice, but he doesn't take it.

"I don't wanna."

"It's Yankumi treat." She replied by pushing the cup to him.

"I said, I don't wanna!" Murayama-kun slapped her hand making the cup fly to the floor.

Everyone in the classroom paused. Kura was the first to step forward as Ichi pulled Hinako back.

"Why are you guys turning on us?" He asked.

"We aren't lashing out." Okuma-kun said.

"It's just that you guys are getting carried away." Oohira-kun added.

"Don't be sensitive just because you missed out." Honjo stepped forward.

Murayama threw his bag down and got in Honjo's face. "Who's being sensitive! You bastard!"

Yamato and Ren quickly pulled Hinako and Izumi out of the way as they started pushing each other. One of them pushes Kura to the side making him jump in. Everyone tried to get them apart. One of the boys was shoved into the desks that had all their food and drinks on it, making it all go to the floor. Suddenly Yankumi came running in.

"What are you guys doing?!" She began pulling them apart. "Stop! I said stop! What part of stop don't you understand?! Break it up! I said break it up!" She got them apart and stood between Murayama's crew and the rest of the 3-D boys. "What're you doing? Explain now!"

"Like I know." Honjo said.

"Ask them!" Kura yelled.

Yankumi turned to Murayama-kun and his crew. "What's wrong with you guys?! If you have something to say, say it now. You're all friends in this class, right?"

"Friends?" Murayama rolled his eyes. "It's only until graduation anyway."

"What?"

"We have other people that we call friends." Yamamoto-kun added.

"Let's go." Yoshida-kun said.

With that said, the group of five walked out of the room. Honjo kicked the front desk in anger.

"Damn out!" He shouted.

"They vented their anger as they pleased!" Kamiya yelled.

"I don't get it." Ichi said.

Hinako and Izumi looked down at the scattered food. Their wonderful celebration was now ruined.

"What's with those guys?" Hinako whispered.

"I don't know…" Izumi patted her hand on Hinako's shoulder.

After school, the gang of eight went to their usual place. They just sat there in complete silence. No one said a word for a while.

"Those guys probably won't be coming to school any time soon." Ichi said, breaking the silence.

"They probably won't come back at all." Kamiya commented as he throw a dart at the dart board.

"There must be a reason." Yamato said.

"I agree." Hinako added. "There has to be a reason."

"Even if we knew, there's nothing we can do." Kura growled.

Ren stood up from the table. "Are we going to let them be, then?"

"It was them that started the fight!" Honjo pointed out.

"Look who's talking." Izumi said. "A few months ago, the six of you used to fight each other almost every day, and now look. You guys are now friends. And you invited me and Hinako into your group and we became a gang of eight. The eight of us learn to fight for each other instead of against each other. Do you really think that you would guys be like this if you give up on each other just because the other person started a fight with you?"

The six boys didn't say anything.

"Just think about it." Hinako added.

The next day at school, Murayama and his crew didn't come to school. Everyone sat in their seats as Yankumi walked in.

"Ohayou!" She saw the five empty desks. "They didn't come, after all."

"Of course they wouldn't." Kura commented.

The rest of the class agreed. Hinako rolled her eyes. Guess someone didn't think about what she or Izumi said last night.

"I have a favor to ask." Yankumi said as she walked to the front desk. "The guys that Murayama's crew is involved with now…If you've heard any stories about those guys or if you have any information about them, please tell me. At this rate, they might quit school. I want them to come back to school at least one more time."

"They won't come back." Kamiya first spoke up.

"Anyhow, we seem to be their friends only till graduation." Ichi added.

"That's right." Another boy commented.

Izumi stood up. "Didn't you guys even listen to a word I said last night? They are still our friends! Our comrades!"

"But high school isn't required. It's up to you if you wanna go to school or not." One of the boys in the front commented.

"Yeah, it's your own responsibility." Another boy added.

"It's okay if we leave those kind of guys alone." Honjo glanced at Izumi.

Heard enough, Hinako slammed her hands down on her desk as she stood up which scared the boys a little bit. Including Izumi. "Those kind of guys?! You guys used to be the same way too, remember?! Thinking that you weren't friends or comrades at all, we were just in the same class, and that was pretty much it! So, why should we leave them alone?!"

"The girls are right!" Yankumi stepped forward. "Like you guys, those guys are my precious students! Some may say that after graduation each has their own life, and it's no big deal to have been in the same class with someone in high school. But the time spent here together can't be experienced anywhere else! The friends that you've made here might become your lifelong treasures!" Yankumi turned to Honjo. "Honjo. When you were in trouble, didn't they work part time jobs tirelessly to make money for you?"

"Shut up." He shifted.

She continued to speak. "During the Akadou festival, didn't they help fix things when the classroom was a mess? You can fight with your friends all you want. People you always hang out with aren't the only friends you have. You might argue with some, and end up developing a deep relationship with them."

"Um…" Wakatsuki-kun stood up. "I…It's something that Murayama's crew told me not to say. When they went to get employment information from Kanpachi Contractors, it seemed like they only said bad things about Akadou." Wakatsuki explained that one of the workers said it would be useless for Akadou students to apply for a job. With that said, the girls sat back down.

"That bastard!" Izumi mumbled.

"I see…" Yankumi sighed. "Someone said that to them."

"This has nothing to do with it." Kura said.

"We're used to that kind of thing." Kamiya agreed.

"They're acting like spoiled brats!" One of the boys yelled out.

"It's just as you say." Yankumi went back to the front. "The attitude they took was wrong, but haven't you guys also been in a situation at least once where you wanted to run away to a different place? You guys might have been part of that group."

Without another word, Yankumi walks out of the classroom leaving the 3-D boys and girls with their own thoughts in silence.

"I…sorta understand what Yamaguchi is saying." Yamato sighed.

"Me too." Ren nodded.

"Me too." Hinako nodded.

"Me too." Izumi nodded.

Once school was over, Hinako and Izumi decided that they were going with Yankumi to convince Murayama and his crew to come back to school. But they just walked on by them, not listening to anything they had to say. They still didn't come to school the following day. Everyone in class went back to talking and playing around, expect for the gang of eight. They just sat there staring at the five empty desks. The girls didn't talk to anyone for the rest of the day because they were too worried about Murayama and his crew. The two of them went with Yankumi again. But this time was different, because instead of walking past the three, they got in their faces.

"You three are really irritating!" Murayama growled.

"They say that a lot, right Izumi?" Hinako smiled.

"Yeah." Izumi nodded. "You guys come to school tomorrow, ok?"

They walked past the three females.

"We'll be waiting!" Yankumi yelled after them.

"They come to school, right Yankumi?" Izumi said as she watched them walk away.

"I hope so." Yankumi replied as she put her hand on Izumi's shoulder.

"Let's hope they do." Hinako added.

The next day at school in the afternoon, Hinako and Izumi went to the office to meet up with Yankumi. But when they got to the door, they overheard the other teachers talking to Yankumi. So, the girls huddled outside and listen to the conversations through the door.

"Yamaguchi-sensei." Aoi-sensei was the first to speak. "Are you going to try to persuade those kids again?"

"Yes."

"Isn't it useless to bring them back forcefully?" Sakura-san asked.

"There's that word again." Izumi muttered to Hinako. "Useless."

"Well, it's not useless. If it's for your friends, then it's never useless." Hinako muttered back, before she and Izumi continued to press their ears against the door to listen to the conversations more. This time, they hear Sawatari said something to Yankumi.

"Yamaguchi-sensei. It's useless to even talk to those guys." Sawatari said.

"That's right." Hatoyama-sensei agreed.

"You don't have to try so hard alone." Tsuruoka-sensei added.

"What we can do at school is limited." Yajima-sensei said.

"It seems like those 5 have been influenced by some bad people." Sawatari stated. "Before this becomes a problem, how about letting them voluntarily drop out? Either way, in a few months they'll be gone anyway."

Heard enough, the girls were about to barged into the office and give all the teachers a piece of their minds when Yankumi spoke up.

"That's exactly why we need to teach them now, isn't it? If we let them loose now, it's obvious that they'll go down the wrong path. That's why there's still a lot that I have to teach them while they're in school."

When the girls heard that, they smiled. Yankumi was really truly one of a kind. She came out of the office and smiled at the girls.

"You two ready to go?"

"Yeah." The girls nodded.

They walked out of the school to the place where they crossed paths with Murayama's crew. But on their way, they stopped by a takoyaki stand where Yankumi disappeared somewhere with the two workers for just a few minutes before coming back.

"She's probably friends with those two takoyaki makers…" Izumi whispered to Hinako.

"Yeah probably…" Hinako nodded.

"Where to Yankumi?" Hinako asked, as she and Izumi followed her.

"To the Shirokin Town warehouse."

As they started heading over there, Yankumi's phone start vibrating. She answered it.

"Ogata? What? What?"

She hung up and put her phone into her pocket.

"What's wrong, Yankumi?" Hinako asked.

Before she could ask again, Yankumi took off running. The girls run after her.

"Matte, Yankumi!" Izumi yelled after her. "The warehouse was the other way."

They followed her straight to the Shirokin Tunnel where they met up with both Yamato and Ren. When they got there and ran inside the tunnel, they found their entire class on the ground badly beaten. They ran to them. Hinako and Yamato knelt down beside Ichi and Kamiya while Izumi and Ren knelt down beside Honjo and Kura.

"Are you guys okay?" Hinako asked.

Ichi nodded.

"They…took them." Honjo groaned. "Sorry."

"We tried to bring them back." Kura added.

"I see." Yankumi replied.

Yankumi looked around and she noticed that Murayama's crew were the only ones missing.

"I see…" Hinako said as she helped Kamiya sit up.

"Murayama's crew protected us from them." Kamiya hissed.

"Those guys are bad news." Ichi nodded.

"Damn it!" Yamato growled.

"They'll pay!" Ren yelled.

Yankumi stood up and took off running. As soon as the other boys were well enough to stand up, they ran after her, but there was a problem…they lost her.

"Which way did she go?" Ren panted.

Izumi quickly took a deep breath then answered. "The Shirokin Town Warehouse."

"How do you that, Izumi?" He asked.

"It's where we were going before Yamato call Yankumi." She replied.

"I see."

"Let's go!" Hinako yelled out.

They ran all the way to the warehouse. When they got there, the other gang was gone along with their leader, and found Yankumi kneeling right in front of Murayama and his crew, who were badly beaten up. Class 3-D ran up and circled them asking if they were okay. Hinako knelt down between Yamato and Yankumi. Izumi knelt down between Yankumi and Ren.

"Take a look." Yankumi said to Murayama's crew. "These guys got beat up like this for your sake. Everyone was worried about you guys. With all their heart. You get it?" She stood and began looking at all of her students. "Listen carefully. What's awaiting for you in life won't be all good. There may be things that break your heart. At that moment, remember it. That you have friends that would put themselves on the line to help you. That you have friends that would rush to help you, when you're in trouble. You guys have in your hands lifelong treasures."

With that said, Murayama and his crew began to cry.

"Gomen…" Murayama said.

"Gomen." Oohira added.

"Gomen." Hamaguchi said.

"Gomen." Yoshida said.

"Gomen." Yamamoto added.

After they apologize, their classmates stood and held out their hands for them. Each took someone's hand and stood up. They leaned against the person beside them smiling. Both the girls smiled at the sight. Everyone of Class 3-D were back together again. Yankumi turned to Hinako and Izumi who both gave her a thumb's up and smiled.

The girls smiled as Murayama and his crew walked in the classroom. Everyone in class gave them a huge greeting.

Yankumi sighed with relief. "Geez. You made me a bit nervous. But finally everyone's together again." She went behind the front desk. "Alright, listen everyone! Listen, okay? You're just barely standing at the starting point. From this point, push your way towards your big future!"

"Oh!"

"A big future is good but…before that, shouldn't we graduate normally first!"

"He has a point, huh?" Ren laughed.

"I was about to say that." Yankumi walked up to them. "Alright, guys…"

"Let's all graduate together!" Izumi interrupted Yankumi.

"Oh!"

"I was about to say that too!" Yankumi huffed.

Everyone in class laughed at her until Kamiya raised his hand to speak.

"Speaking of big futures…" He turned to Hinako and Izumi. "How would you like to go out with me? Or do have boyfriends?"

"Baka!" Izumi shouted.

"Don't go asking crazy questions like that!" Hinako shouted.

Hinako and Izumi stood up and then start chasing him around the classroom. Everyone else laughed at them. Everything was back to normal, well as normal as it gets in Class 3-D.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Yay! Episode 9 is up!**

 **Next chapter will be great! The Ultimate Yamato and Hinako Moment Ever!**

 **Also, I want to thank you FireRaven15 for your reviews.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and please leave a comment!**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **Gomen means sorry in Japanese.**


	14. Episode 10

Episode 10: Obtain happiness by your own hands!

After Yankumi reunite everyone and restore 3D's friendship, Yamato and Hinako's feelings start to change towards each other. Little did they know, they're about to become so much more than just friends…something much more…

One morning, Hinako was woken up by the sound of someone who was knocking at her front door. She slowly makes her way through her apartment and opened the door to see her friend, Izumi.

"Nani?" Hinako yawned.

"What are you doing still sleeping?! Hurry up and get dressed!" Izumi shouted as she showed her what time it was.

Hinako's eyes widened. She was going to be late for school. So, she ran back into her bedroom and got dressed in her school uniform and fix her hair. When she came out, Izumi was still standing there, just waiting for her.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"You bet." Hinako replied as she locked the door to her apartment.

The girls got to school right on time. Hinako sighed with relief as she plops onto her desk.

"I can't believe you overslept again! That's so unlike you, Hinako." Izumi said, sitting in her seat.

"Sorry, Izumi." Hinako smiled. "It won't happen again. I promise."

"All right…"

With that said, Izumi turned to the front while Hinako laid her chin on her desk and watched the 3-D boys goofing off and having fun just like every other day in Class 3-D, but then a fight broke out between Hosokawa and Ikeda. As they pushed each other, two boys ran out of the classroom to go get Yankumi. Kura and Honjo try to break the fight up. But, they couldn't.

"Stop!" Honjo shouted.

"Calm down you two!" Kura added.

Seconds later, Yankumi came running in along with the two boys.

"What are you guys up to?! Stop it! I said stop it!" Yankumi shouted as she easily pushed both the boys down, which surprised everyone else in class. "Geez, this early in the morning. What is it this time?"

"This guy ate all of my chips!" Hosokawa said.

"What?" Yankumi said.

"But only crumbs were left!" Ikeda replied.

"Are you kidding me?!" Hosokawa shouted. "The best part is when you pour all the crumbs from the bag into your mouth like this!"

"What are you guys…elementary school students?" Hinako mumbled as she facepalmed.

Yankumi sighed. "Okay everyone. Line up your chairs, desks and take your seats."

"Come to think to it!" Ren yelled out. "Why are you so strong?"

Everyone in class turned to Yankumi.

"Eh?" Yankumi's eyes widened.

"Yeah, yeah, why is that?" Ichi asked.

"Why do you ask this only now?" Yamato asked as he stretched.

"I've always wondered…" Kamiya mumbled.

"That was some crazy strength just now." Izumi commented.

"Before we knew it, it's like 'Yankumi = Strong'." Kura said.

"It sorta went unnoticed." Ren said.

"Then, let it be…" Yankumi whispered to herself so the boys wouldn't hear.

"Are you learning hand combat of some kind?" Ichi asked.

"Um…Since I love action movies, I sorta copied it." Yankumi stated as she punched the air.

"Is that it?" Kamiya asked.

Yankumi continued to explain her reasons. "Also…a little bit of self-defense techniques. You know, girls have to worry about perverts and such."

"Oh!" Everyone in class nodded as they understood.

Yankumi sighed with relief.

"But you know. Isn't that kinda pointless?" Yamato asked as he stood up.

"Yeah, right!" Ren agreed. "A pervert would never pick her!"

"She's not sexy!" Ichi added.

"No guys would ever target you!" Kura laughed.

Everyone in class laughed in agreement.

"I'm taking attendance!" Yankumi huffed.

As the rest of the class went back to playing around, Honjo lowered his voice to gathered around Izumi and the boys.

"Hey, hey, hey." Honjo whispered. "Yankumi is definitely hiding something."

"Yeah, she definitely is. Something's fishy." Kamiya added.

"By day a teacher, by night a masked wrestler." Kura said.

"Wanna investigate a bit?" Ren asked.

"What?"

"After school, let's follow her and find out the secret to her strength." Izumi added.

"Oh, I see!" Honjo smiled.

"Good." The rest of the boys smiled.

"Geez." Yamato snickered.

"Aren't you curious about her strength or where she learn to fight?" Hinako asked.

"Maybe."

As soon as school was over, the gang of eight began to follow Yankumi. They followed her by walking up some stairs. They almost got caught, but they didn't. Then, they saw her talking to a group of boxers right outside of a boxing gym.

"Boxing?" Ichi said.

"Is that why she's that strong?" Honjo said.

After talking to the boxers, she turned into the parking lot where they came from.

"This is amazing." Izumi said.

"Is she a regular?" Kura said.

When they peaked around, they see her putting a dog.

"Aw, Shouhei! You're so cute today!"

The group of eight almost fell over.

"What the heck is she doing?" Ichi asked.

"Is she Mutsugoro-san?!" Kura said.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow!" She got up and starts walking out of the parking lot.

The eight quickly pressed against the wall so she wouldn't see them. Once she walked by, they quickly relaxed.

"I guess boxing wasn't it." Hinako whispered.

"What was that about?" Kamiya said.

"Let's go." Ren said as he led the way.

They continued to walk after her. Suddenly she ran around a corner. They ran after her, but when they followed her around the corner, she was standing there glaring at the eight. They froze.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked.

The gang of eight look embarrassed because they got caught.

"Geez." Yankumi sighed. "Why are you guys following me?"

"What do you mean 'why'?" Yamato said.

"We just wanted to figure out the secret to your strength." Ren stated.

"Why would I have a secret…" Yankumi suddenly turned around and started mumbling to herself. "Oh no! If they followed me home…my secret would be exposed!"

"Eh? Did you say something?" Ichi asked.

She turned back around and then pointed to the sky. "A flying frog!"

"Frog?" The group of eight looked. When they didn't see anything, they turned back around, and Yankumi was gone. They looked to their right to see her running away from them. They run after her…but they lost her.

"We've lost her…" Hinako panted.

"Damn, she can run pretty fast." Izumi replied as she panted.

"Why are we chasing her anyway?" Yamato asked.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?" A voice said.

The eight turned to see Kumai-san coming towards them.

"Kumai-san!"

"Um…did you happen to see Yankumi?" Ichi asked.

"Uh, no. I didn't." He shook his head. "But her house is close by."

"Do you know where she lives?" Ren stepped forward with the others.

"Yeah, I do. But…"

The gang of eight smiled at each other. After getting the directions to Yankumi's house, they ran straight there. It was a beautiful house too.

"Excuse us!" They walked in.

"Alright!"

"Hey!"

They saw Yankumi and smiled.

"Welcome!" She gave us a small smile. "What's going on guys? So, you found this place."

With that said, Ren narrowed his eyes at her. "You made it tough on us because you ran away."

"Uh, no. I didn't run away from you." Yankumi thought for a second of what to say to them. "I was just jogging."

"Jogging?" Hinako said, looking puzzled.

"What the heck?" Yamato huffed.

"This place is amazing!" Ichi said, looking around.

"It's like back the Showa era!" Kura added.

"Your house is pretty interesting, Yankumi." Kamiya said.

"What does your family do?" Honjo asked.

"What…" Yankumi said as she looked taken back by that question.

As the girls looked around, they saw two men on the left side of the room. For some reason, they looked familiar to the two girls.

"Huh?" Izumi pointed to them. "Haven't I seen you somewhere?"

"Um…You must be mistaken." The taller one said.

"Ah! The takoyaki guys." Hinako remembered.

"Ah!" The boys looked in shock and surprised. Including Izumi.

Yankumi went up to the two men.

"That's right!" She said. "Our family have been takoyaki makers for generations. These two are employees. This is Tetsu-san and Minoru-san."

"Domo." The two men smiled weirdly.

"Domo." The eight teens gave a slight bow.

"So, that shop belongs to Yankumi's family." Ichi observed.

"Oh, it's really good." Kura smiled.

"Thank you."

"But why does that say 'Oedo Family'?" Honjo asked, pointing to things on the walls.

"Hey! We're home!" Two scary-looking men walked in behind the gang of eight, followed by an older man. Yamato pulled Hinako behind him, shoving her into Honjo and Kamiya. Ren did the same thing to Izumi by pulling her behind him, shoving her into Ichi and Kura. The older man looked at the eight then at Yankumi. "Guests?" He asked.

"Yeah…" She replied.

The gang of eight ended up sitting on their knees across from Yankumi, who reveals to be the 4th generation of the Oedo Family, her grandfather is the 3rd generation boss and Tetsu-san who is loyal to Yankumi. The eight teens gulped. Tetsu-san broke the silence.

"I have a favor to ask man to man." He glanced at the two girls. "And to woman. If the school finds out about our family, Ojou will be unable to continue working there. Can you guys hold this secret close to your hearts?" He bowed his head at the eight teens. "So, I'm begging you."

"Tetsu…" Yankumi said.

"We understand." Yamato said.

"Don't worry. It's doesn't involve us." Ren added.

"School would be boring without Yankumi." Izumi smiled. "Right, guys?"

"Yeah." The others nodded.

Yankumi's grandfather turned to Yankumi. "Kumiko, you have some good students here."

"Yup." She smiled at them.

They invited the eight to stay for dinner, and they couldn't say no to that. They even a hot spot. The eight teens sat on one side while the Oedo Familu sat on the other side of the table with Yankumi who is sitting on the end. Hinako sat in between Yamato and Ren while Izumi sat in between Ren and Honjo.

"Looks yummy!"

"Eat up everyone." Yankumi said. "You're welcome to seconds."

"Okay." Minoru said.

"Not you." Tetsu said as he hit him on the head.

"Sorry."

"Well…" Ren said, looking at the others.

The eight grabbed their chopsticks. "Thanks for the food!" They dug right in.

"Yummy!"

"I like the way you eat." Yankumi's grandfather said, smiling.

"But it was shocking, I never would've thought Yankumi's family is actually…" Kura stated.

"I know." Ichi added.

"When I was 7, I lost my parents in an accident. That's when my grandpa took me in." Yankumi explained.

"So, that's what happened." Yamato said.

"This has now become my precious home." Yankumi continued to speak. "Everyone is very dear to me more than my real family."

Everyone smiled at her, except for Minoru-san, who was still stuffing his mouth with meat.

"Minoru…All you do is eat meat!" Tetsu hit him on the head again.

"When Ojou's giving a heart-to-heart speech!" Wakamatsu-san said.

"You messed it up!" Sugawara-san added.

"There won't be any meat left though." Minoru said as he swallowed.

Tetsu-san hit him again, making the eight teens laugh. The rest of the time they just laughed with Yankumi's family, expect for Yamato, who sat there and watch them with a sad look on his face. Hinako noticed Yamato's sad face. Right after they finished dinner, they left.

"Yankumi's been through a lot." Hinako pointed out.

"Yeah, she has." Kamiya said.

"But it must be fun living at that house." Honjo added.

"Yeah." Yamato nodded slightly. "They really felt like a family, huh?"

Ren and Hinako looked at him with confused looks on their faces. He glanced at them.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, it's just unlike you." Ren commented.

"No, that's not true." Yamato replied, showing a sad smile.

"Hey, hey, hey. Wanna go to karaoke now?" Kura cheered.

"Yeah, good idea!" Ichi said.

"Yay! I love karaoke!" Izumi smiled.

"Sorry, I'm going home." Yamato said. "Bye, bye." He started walking away.

Hinako said bye to the others and she ran after Yamato. When she catch up to him, she grabbed his hand. "I thought you were going to walk me home. You didn't forget, did you?"

"Course not." He gave her a fake smile. But Hinako was too smart to fall for it.

"Is something wrong, Yamato?" Hinako asked as she frowned.

"No, nothing." He quickly replied. "Nothing is wrong."

"Are you hiding anything from us?" She asked.

"I'm not hiding anything."

"Don't lie to me. I can tell when boys are lying to me or not." Hinako stated. "Please look at me, Yamato!" Hinako shouted as she grabbed his shoulder, so he would look at her.

"Nothing is wrong, alright?!" Yamato shouted as he pulled her hand off his shoulder.

When he realized that he yelled at her, he sighed. "I'm sorry Hinako…I just need to get home." He said, calmly. "Can you walk the rest of the way home by yourself tonight?"

"Yeah, sure." Hinako replied as she bit her lip. "Yamato, if you want to talk to me about anything, you can let me know, ok?"

"I know…Ja ne…" Yamato smiled as he kissed her forehead.

"Ja ne."

Hinako watched him walk off. Once he was out of sight, she walked home. Later that night at her apartment, Hinako couldn't get to sleep. She tried and tried by tossing and turning, but the image of Yamato's sad-looking face wouldn't leave her mind. Suddenly there was a loud knock at her door. It woke her, and she got up in order to answer it.

' _Who could that be at this hour?_ ' Hinako thought as she slowly made her way towards the door.

She answered it and was surprised to see Yamato.

"Yamato, what are you…"

Without warning, Yamato grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. Wrapping his arms around her and tighten his grip, making the hug tight around her. Confused, Hinako tried to break the hug, but it only makes Yamato pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry if I woke you, I know it's late, but this was the only place that I could think of." He whispered in her ear. "Can I stay here for tonight?"

"Sure."

Hinako broke the hug and led him inside her apartment. She turned on the lights and sat him down at her low coffee table standing in front of the couch. Hinako brought him a glass of water and sat on the couch and covered herself with a blanket, waiting for him to talk. After a few minutes, Yamato broke the silence in the room.

"Have you seen any more blood lately?" Yamato asked. "I mean, after seeing that car accident the other night?"

Hinako raised her head and gazed at him deeply confused. "You were there too?" Hinako manage to ask, while at the very same time her mind started to wonder. ' _How does Yamato know that?_ '

Yamato clapped his fingers close to her face in order to get her attention back on him. "Yes, I was. Also, I'm the one who found you in front of an alley where you fainted. I managed to get your address from your bag, the one that brought you back home, and placed you on the sofa." He pause to take his breath and went on speaking without holding anything back. "Also, I'm the one who unbuttoned your white shirt and covered you with the blanket." When he was done talking to her, silence entered the room again. Although he felt uneasy telling that he unbuttoned her shirt, it just sounded so wrong to him and makes him feel like he's a pervert…

It took a few seconds for Hinako to process what Yamato said to her. With her dark-brown eyes, wide-eyed looking around in disbelieve, that Yamato touched her somewhere, where he wasn't supposed to touch when she was unconscious. Instantly she stood up and walked over to Yamato, who was still sitting at the coffee table. Hinako raised her hand and slapped him in the face.

"Whatever the reason, you shouldn't touch a girl like that at all! Especially if she has fainted or is even asleep!" She voiced at him and sat back down on the couch pulling blanket around her.

Yamato's cheek was now bright red after Hinako slapped him good, and his face turned to the left remained like that for some time now. Hinako was caught by surprise and no idea how to response. She couldn't believe that she just slapped him right in the face. Hinako sighed as Yamato was still facing the window and not saying another word. She walked off for a bit, just to come back with some ice cubes in a bag and handing them to Yamato. "Here press this against your cheek. You don't want to have a hand print on your face at school tomorrow." Hinako tells him standing next to him waiting for him to take the bag with the ice-cubes.

Yamato turned and faced her. He felt his heart racing, not only he revealed that 'little' truth to her, but fearless Hinako was now scolding him on how he should act around a girl. He took the ice cubes and placed them against his cheek. "I'm sure that this hand print will disappear by tomorrow morning." Yamato honestly tells her. Hinako sat back down on the couch and nodded her head. Now the two of them were really confused. Until then, they were always fighting, arguing, and they were so pissed with each other. But now they have these new feelings for each other, that it was so hard to deal with. So hard to understand. And the long silent made them feel more uneasy.

"Hinako, can I ask you something?" Yamato asked.

"What is it?" Hinako looked at him, curiously.

"Where are your parents?" Yamato asked.

Hinako was a bit shocked by the question. But she answered it.

"I don't have parents anymore." Hinako replied. "They were both killed in a car accident. I was only twelve at that time and my big brother was fifteen. For the next few years, we were happy together. Hiroki enrolled in Akadou Academy and during his first year he became a delinquent legend who took over the whole school in one month. As for me, I became a fearsome delinquent myself during my years in middle school, I was capable of martial arts after being taught and trained by Hiroki. At some point when Hiroki became a senior at Akadou, he decided to quit fighting and start studying to become a teacher."

"I see." Yamato replied. "But that still doesn't explain why you're scared of blood."

Suddenly tears began to roll down her face, Yamato's eyes widened. Because that was the first time he ever saw Hinako having tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Yamato…can I talk about that another time? I promise you I will tell you everything until the time is right. Please…" Hinako begged him as she begin to cry again.

To that, Yamato knew she wasn't stupid, Hinako was far from that. She was fearless. But, she was also hurting and very lonely. But somehow her cool act and bravery made Yamato shiver for just a second. Without thinking, Yamato realized that he was sitting right next to Hinako on the couch. He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. Wrapping both his arms around her, and tighten his grip, making the hug tight around her. Hinako was confused as she tries to break the hug, so she could speak, but it only made Yamato pull her even closer.

Without warning, Yamato cut her off with his lips. At first, Hinako was shocked by this, but then she slowly closed her eyes. Somehow, she could feel all the pain and anger that Yamato was holding inside his heart in that one little kiss. They broke for air and look at each other eye-to-eye.

"Stay with me?" Hinako asked.

"Yes, I'll take your pain away…and you can take my pain away…" He whispered in Hinako's ear.

"Sounds good…"

With that said, they hugged and kissed again. The hug never broke, Yamato was hugging her with all his might just like that all night, as Hinako rested her head against his chest. Both of them close their eyes and fell asleep. They didn't break the hug up until the very next morning.

That morning, neither Yamato or Hinako said much to each other. Yamato wrote his phone number on a pink note paper. Facing Hinako, he let his fingers run through her forehead and talks to her in a sweet tone. "I won't say anything to anyone…"

"I won't either." Hinako replied.

"For me, touching you without your knowledge I'm really sorry." Yamato said as he pointed to the small pink paper. "Here's my phone number, if you need anything. You call me. I'll see you at school." Yamato bended down and kissed her forehead softly. He gazed at her one more time and left her apartment.

After that, Hinako just sit there speechless for a long time. She want to know what just happened last night, the fact that it was the first time she kissed Yamato, on the lips. And she wasn't sure if it was the long hug, or that someone seemed to care about her a lot. But for once, Hinako had no words to response at all. Facing an angry Yamato was easy, including fighting and yelling at him, she could do that easy. But facing a sweet Yamato, she doesn't know how to react to that. Though it was fearless Hinako, she could face anything what comes to her. Sighing, fearless Hinako slowly got up on her feet, took a shower, got dressed, fix up her hair, quick breakfast, and went to school.

At school, Hinako walked into the classroom and looked for Yamato, but he wasn't in there. Sighing with disappointment, Hinako sat down at her desk.

"What's the matter, Hinako?" Izumi asked, making their group of boys turn to her.

"Nothing…" Hinako leaned on her desk. "Just had a rough night sleeping."

But Izumi knew something there was something bothering Hinako. But before she could ask again, one of the 3-D boys start talking about this week, being delinquent extermination week. Izumi and the 6 boys turned to him. As they listened, Yamato walked in and sat down at his desk without looking at any of his friends, including Hinako.

"Delinquent Extermination Week?"

"What? They're doing something like that again?"

"Yesterday, we went to karaoke and a teacher from Kaitoku High preached to us." One of the 3-D boys stated.

"For real?" Izumi said as she laughed.

"How irritating…" Kamiya added.

"Hey, wait." Honjo turned to Yamato. "Yamato, isn't your dad a Kaitoku High teacher?"

The class started asking and talking about it.

"Kaitoku High?"

"That's great!"

"It's a super elite high school?"

"So, your dad's a teacher?"

"I didn't even know!" Kura said.

"Me neither." Izumi added.

Heard enough, Yamato slammed his hand down on his desk and stood up.

"Shut up!" He yelled out by glaring at them. "It's none of your business."

"Yamato…" Hinako mumbled.

He glanced at her then at the rest of the class.

"Sorry." When he walked out of the classroom, Class 3-D were stunned.

"What's wrong with Yamato?" Ichi asked.

Without another second, Hinako stood up and ran after him.

"Yamato!" He stopped and turned to Hinako. "What's the matter with you? You've been acting very strange lately."

"No I haven't." Yamato quickly replied.

"Are you hiding something from us?" Hinako asked.

"No, I'm not hiding anything." Yamato stated.

"Okay fine." Hinako said. "But you look like something's troubling you."

"Nothing is…"

"Don't lie to me!" Hinako cuts Yamato off by yelling at him. "I can tell when boys are lying to me or not…Remember? I told you that last night. Also, I know when something's up with you. Aren't we friends? Just tell me!"

"I told you nothing's wrong…" Yamato said. "Why do I have to tell you and the others anyway? Even if I did tell you guys, you wouldn't even understand." With that said, Yamato starts to walk away again. Without warning, Hinako quickly walks up to him and grabs his blazer, lifted him up and pinned him against the wall.

"I'm worried about you!" Hinako shouted. "But if you don't know what to tell me then fine just…do whatever you want!" Yamato's eyes widened as she continued to yell at him. "If you don't want me to not come near you, then I won't! If you don't want me to talk to you, then I'll never talk to you again! I don't know how long you want this to go on, but I don't care if it's until we graduate or even after!"

At that moment, Yamato didn't know what to say… "Are we done here?" He asked, plainly.

"Yes…we are…" Hinako nodded as she let go of Yamato's blazer.

With that said, Yamato sighed and walked away. Hinako felt tears coming down her face, suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see Ren.

"I don't know what happened out here just now, but don't you worry Hinako I'll go talk to him."

"Thanks Ren…" Hinako gives him a small smile.

Ren handed her to Izumi, who came into the hallway as well and went after Yamato.

Hinako was silent for the rest of the day. Right after school, Izumi and the four boys took her to their usual place where they wait for Ren and hopefully Yamato. Few minutes later, Ren walks in with a very pissed off Yamato, who walked to the other side of the room. Ren quietly tells the others what just happened. Ren was talking to Yamato while at the same time playing some pool until Yamato's father showed up and make things. Then, Yamato end up punching his father.

Seconds later, Yankumi ran in and looked at Yamato.

"Ogata, what's the meaning of this?" She asked.

"I'm at fault, for provoking his dad." Ren said as he stepped forward.

"That has nothing to do with it." Yamato quickly replied. "It's a problem between my father and me. It's all my fault."

"What?" Yankumi said.

"It's my fault that my family has fallen apart." Yamato stated as he continued to explain. "My dad told me that a guy like me could never be happy. It doesn't matter what happens to me! Leave me alone!"

Hinako froze when she heard that. It all makes sense to her now. Why Yamato looked so sad when he was watching Yankumi's family eating together, and why he came to her apartment in the middle of the night.

' _Why didn't I push him to tell me?_ ' Hinako thought to herself.

"Don't say stupid things! It does matter!" Yankumi shouted as she went up to him. "Running away like that won't solve anything. Especially at a time like this, you've got to face the problem head on. Listen, Ogata. There's no one who hasn't been hurt before. People all overcome difficulties and carry on living."

"Shut up." He glared at her and then walked out of the room not saying anything else. Then, Hinako run right after him, right out the door as well.

"Why didn't Yamato say anything to us about this?" Ichi asked.

"We've been together ever since we were freshmen." Kamiya stated. "I didn't even know."

"Isn't it okay to at least tell your friends?" Honjo sighed.

"How sad…" Kura said.

"Yeah." Izumi agreed.

"It's because you're friends." Yankumi said.

"What?" Izumi and the 5 boys turned to Yankumi.

"Ogata is the most thoughtful of his best buds, right?" Yankumi said. "If he showed his torn heart to you guys, he thought you would worry about him. He's that kind of guy."

"Yeah, he is." Izumi smiled.

"Let's go look for him." Ren puts his hand on Izumi's shoulder. "Oh! And Hinako too. I bet she's following Yamato right now. So, let's go look for them both." With that said, they all ran out and split up into groups of 2, 2, and 3.

Elsewhere, Hinako was still following after Yamato.

"Yamato wait…please wait!" Hinako yelled out as she kept running after him. But he doesn't stop, until Hinako grabbed him from his blazer making him stop. She turned to face him with a very serious look on her face. "What is wrong with you? You know Yankumi was right of what she said back there. You're making everyone worried. Including me." Hinako spoke her mind out loud again as usual and she turned to face Yamato with a serious look on her face. "And I know how you feel…you have an older brother, right?"

"What?"

"What's your brother's name?" Hinako questioned.

"Yuuichi." He answered.

"Let's see…Yuuichi…abundant first-born son, ne?"

Suddenly the air between the two was getting tense at the mention of Yamato's older brother Yuuichi. Hinako paused for just a moment and glanced at him with a curious look on her face, but Yamato avoids it, by looking to the side.

"It's no fun, right? Coming after a successful older brother…just living under his own shadow…"

Yamato could feel his jaws clenching together painfully at Hinako's words.

' _How the hell did she…?_ ' Yamato thought to himself. "I never said that!" Yamato forced himself to speak but Hinako wasn't being fooled. The two stared into each other's eyes for a tense breath before Hinako could speak again.

"You didn't have to. I could tell by the look of your face and eyes." Hinako stated.

Yamato was left speechless at Hinako, not quite sure how to respond to her comment. He didn't deny or even confirm her assumptions, but Yamato could see by the look on Hinako's face, she didn't need any response from him, she was assured in herself and what she observed about Yamato. He was left to wonder, how was it that he could only barely figure her out, but she could read him like a book after reading a few words?

"Just leave me be!" Yamato shouted as he simply pushed her aside and starts walking away again.

Hinako felt more tears roll down her face as she began to drop to her knees, but she was eventually caught by Izumi.

"Are you okay, Hinako?" She asked.

"Yeah…" Hinako stiffed. "I'm fine."

"Come on, I'm meeting up with Yankumi and the boys at the park." Izumi stated.

"Hai…"

"Let's hope they found Yamato." Izumi makes a hopeful face.

"Me too." Hinako nodded.

When they got to the park, the girls saw Yankumi and their boys.

"He's nowhere around." Honjo said as he panted.

"What could he have gone?" Hinako said as she looked around with a sad look on her face.

"Don't you worry, Hina-chan." Kamiya said as he pats Hinako's head with some comfort. "I'm sure he's alright. We'll find him."

Yankumi and the 7 teens ran off again to look for Yamato, until they came to a bridge where they saw a bunch of people surrounding a cop car. They overheard some of the people who were looking at the scene and were talking about a fight.

"What happened?"

"It was a fight."

"Looks like there's a guy bleeding."

"Hey, it can't be Yamato, right?" Izumi asked.

Hinako didn't want to wait for an answer. Without a second thought, she run towards the crowd with Yankumi and the others right behind her. Hinako pushed her way to the front and looked around for Yamato. She saw him being forced into a police car.

"Let me go!" He yelled out.

"Yamato!" Hinako called out to him. Yamato looked up as his friends ran to him.

"What did Yamato do?" Ichi asked.

"Why are you taking Yamato in?!" Kamiya demanded to know.

"Please stand back." The cop said, trying to push them back.

"He is my student." Yankumi stepped forward. "Please let me speak with him."

"If you want to talk, please come to the precinct." The cop informed her.

With that said, he pushed Yamato into the police car. As they drove off, the 7 teens ran after the car with Yankumi right behind him.

"Yamato!"

The next day, Hinako didn't sit at her desk. She sat at Yamato's desk and didn't want to talk or even look at anyone. Of course, no one said anything to her. Hinako just sat there looking all depressed until two boys ran in the door.

"Bad news! Yamato's dad has brought a withdrawal letter!"

Everyone in their seats were shock by the news.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ren said as he stood up.

"Didn't Yamato say that he didn't do anything?" Honjo said as he and Kamiya stood up.

"Why does he have to withdraw from school?" Kura added as he and Ichi stood up as well.

"Does Yamato…really have to quit school?" Ichi mumbled.

Without warning, Hinako quickly got up and began to walk out of the classroom, but she was stopped by Izumi, who was calling out to her.

"Hinako, where are you going?" She asked.

"I know Yamato didn't anything wrong." Hinako said as she turned to the class. "So, I'm going to go out and prove his innocence! I want all 30 of us to graduate together! And I want to tell you that I…love him. So, who's with me?"

Everyone froze, but then they smiled at Hinako.

"Alright!" Ren shot up. "Let's go guys! Let's go prove Yamato's innocence!"

"Count me in!" Izumi added as she shot up from her seat.

"Me too!" Honjo added.

"Me too!" Ichi added.

"Me too!" Kura added.

"Me too!" Kamiya added.

"Let's do it!" Hinako cheered. "3-D's Operation proving our friend's innocence! Fight-oh!"

"OH!" The rest of 3-D shot up.

Class 3-D ran out of the school and went straight to the area where Yamato was arrested last night. They went around and asked every person they've saw to see if they saw something or anything from the fight last night. Hinako and Izumi walked up to an elderly lady and bowed to her.

"Excuse us ma'am." Izumi first spoke. "Did you happen to see a fight last night here in this area?"

"If you have, can you please tell us?" Hinako added.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't." She shook her head.

"We understand." Izumi sighed. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Yes, thank you very much." Hinako added as she and Izumi bowed.

The girls went to person after person, but so far…nothing.

"What are you guys doing?"

Hinako and Izumi turned to see Yankumi. They went up to her, with their five boys.

"If we can prove Yamato's innocence, his withdrawal can be retracted right?" Hinako quietly asked her.

"We want to be with Yamato a while longer." Izumi added.

"You guys…" Yankumi looked behind the seven at the rest of her students who were busy asking for a witness. "Alright, let's split up."

The 7 teens nodded and resumed their search. After a while, two boys that are in junior high came up to them. They explain that Yamato protected them from a group of punks who were trying to take their money. As they run away, they witness the fight by hiding behind some trash cans. One of the punks tried to hit Yamato with a metal pipe, but he dodged it and hits one of his friends instead. After that, the punks run away leaving Yamato to take the blame.

"Shall we all go to the police together?" Ren asked.

The two boys nodded. They started to walk when a group of punks stepped in front of them.

"I can't allow that." The leader said as his group surrounded them. Hinako and Izumi kept

"You guys keep quiet and let it blow over." The leader ordered.

"So, it was you…" Ren growled. "You framed our friend!"

"And what if we did?!"

The group ran at the five 3-D boys. The girls quickly moved the two boys away from the fight, but one of them grabbed Hinako from behind. She quickly punched him, making him drop to the ground. She and Izumi punched and kicked every guy who would come near the two boys.

"Put an end to this right now!"

The girls smiled at the sight of Yankumi. It was all over for the group of punks now.

"Who the heck are you?" The leader walked towards her.

"I'm their homeroom teacher." She said, plainly.

"Teacher?" They laughed.

Yankumi got into her serious mode. "How dare you guys give my student a bad rap."

"It's just a teacher. Are you stupid? Get lost!" Yankumi took down one of the punks.

"If you look down on me just because I'm a teacher, you're in trouble!" She lectured them.

"Bastard! Don't get too cocky!" The leader run towards her.

Of course, Yankumi took him down as well. "If you still wanna go, I'll take you on." She said. "But be prepared, in order to protect my precious students, I won't go easy!"

"Let's go!" The leader yelled, as he run off along with his buddies.

Hinako and Izumi turned to the boys. "You two all right?" Hinako asked.

They both nodded. "That's good." Izumi smiled as she patted both the boys' heads.

The rest of the class ran up and help Ren and the other boys stand. After that, they went to the police station, and the two boys told the cops what 'really' happened last night. Class 3-D stood at the front gate waiting for Yamato. Izumi turned to her and smiled. Hinako looked at her, curiously.

"What?"

"So…you're in love with Yamato, huh?" Izumi nudged her as Hinako blushed. "Are you going to tell him your feelings?"

"Yeah…maybe." Hinako smiled a little bit, still blushing.

"Aww! That's so sweet! How romantic!" Kamiya shouted as the rest of the boys cheered.

"Oh, shut up!" Hinako yelled out at the whole class.

They all laughed, including Izumi. But they quickly went silent as the front door opened. Hinako smiled even more when Yamato walked out and looked at them.

"Yamato!" Ren yelled out.

Everyone in 3-D cheered and waved at him. Yankumi stepped out from behind him and started talking to him. After she was done talking, they all ran up to him.

"Geez. Don't make us worry." Ren laughed.

Yankumi lightly pushed Yamato to them. He slowly walked down the stairs to them. Some of the 3-D boys started clapping as he was coming down.

"I'm sorry." Yamato said as he looked at them all.

"What are you saying?!" Ichi nudged him.

"Don't be so distant." Kura smiled.

"Aren't we friends?" Honjo asked.

"That's right, Yamato." Kamiya nodded.

"Right?" Ren smiled.

"Yeah." Yamato smiled. "Thanks, everyone."

He went up to the boys and they started cheering and laughing. Hinako and Izumi stepped back and watched them. Yamato was smiling and laughing. Hinako was so happy to see his smiling face. Yamato stopped once his eyes met with Hinako. He makes his way towards her.

"Go get him…" Izumi whispered as she lightly pushed Hinako to him.

"Hey." Hinako smiled at him.

"How…how can you still smile at me after everything I said to you?" He asked. "I was a total jerk to you."

"It's okay Yamato…"

"No, it's not. I'm worse than scum." He quickly replied. "When I saw tears rolling down your face, I was devasted. I didn't know what to say. But now I know what to say to you. And I want to say. I'm so sorry Hinako…"

"You know, it's always like this." Hinako replied.

"Huh?" Yamato looked puzzled.

"I would never understand what you're feeling or what you're thinking, so I ended up just speaking my mind out loud, as usual." She stated. "But now I know I want to apologize to you too. So, I want to say…I'm sorry, Yamato…"

"Hinako…" Yamato mumbled.

"I'm not finished." Hinako cuts in. "When my older brother Hiroki and I lived together, we went through some hard times. But we got through them, somehow. Please share the weight that you're carrying…with me."

"Hinako…I…"

"Don't belittle me, Yamato." Hinako said. "I really mean it! I want to always share your happiness, your sadness, and your hardships with you. No matter how much we understand each other, we're still different people. So, I can never tell what you're thinking, and you can never tell what I'm thinking either. But that's why now I want to share so much with you!"

"Hinako…"

"I love you…Ogata Yamato…"

Yamato's eyes widened when he heard that. "Y-You love me?"

"Yes, I do." She smiled. "Look, Yamato, you've spent a lot of time worried about others with their lives, and not enough at your own life. Well, I'm looking at your life right now, and here's what I see. A wonderful person, with so much to share and sharing it with no one. So much to say, but with no one to talk to. A person who's running as fast as he can, to get away from your troubles. That he needs someone in his life. Let me be the person in your life, Yamato. I'll keep all of your secrets, your happiness, your sadness, and your hardships. I'll guard them as jealously as you do. Please, Yamato. Just…let me…in."

Suddenly without warning, he pulled her into a tight hug. "You know, there's something I've been wanting to tell you too. The night that I've spend with you, it was the greatest night of my life." Yamato broke the hug and looked at Hinako right in the eyes. "Now, I know I can be happy because I have you by my side. I love you too, Takaishi Hinako."

"Yamato…"

"Hinako…"

Yamato and Hinako kissed making everyone in Class 3-D cheer for them. They pulled away and smiled at each other.

"I saw the first kiss!" Honjo cheered.

"No, you didn't." Kamiya smiled at them. "From the way Hina-chan was glowing yesterday, I would say that they've already kissed with a few other things as well."

"What do you mean by that, Kamiya?" Izumi looked at him and then her jaws dropped. "NANI?!"

Izumi thought she was gonna faint, but she eventually caught by Ren.

"Come on." Yamato grabbed Hinako's hand. "I'll introduce you to my mom."

"You guys head back to school." Hinako added. "We'll catch up."

He pulled her away as Izumi cried on Ren's shoulder saying that about her best friend wasn't being honest with her anymore. Yamato led Hinako to his mother.

"Mom." She turned to him. "This is Takaishi Hinako."

"It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Ogata." Hinako smiled as she bowed.

She smiled back and bowed as well. "It's nice to finally meet you, Hinako. My son has told me a lot about you. Especially telling me very beautiful you look."

"Mom…" He groaned. Hinako looked at Yamato to see that he was blushing.

"Why don't you come over for dinner tonight?" His mom insisted.

"Oh…um…is that ok?"

"Yes, of course." Ms. Ogata replied. "His father shouldn't be coming home tonight, and if he does, just ignore him."

"Okay then. I would love it!" Hinako smiled. "What time should I come?"

"I'll send Yamato to get you around six."

"Okay, thank you ma'am…" Hinako bowed.

After that, Yamato and Hinako went back to school where Yamato's mother took care of the withdrawal letter that his father had brought to Akadou earlier today. Then, everyone returned to school where Yankumi speaks to them.

"Listen, everyone." Yankumi starts to speak to the whole class from the front desk. "From now on, you won't know what kind of trouble lies ahead. But you guys have the strength to overcome it and friends that'll support you. Never forget this fact." After that, Yankumi went to the middle of the classroom with a smile on her face. "With that said…to celebrate Ogata's return, let's play kick-the-can!"

Hinako rolled her eyes. "What is she thinking…?" She mumbled.

"Here we go again…" Izumi mumbled.

"Oh…" The 3-D boys said, weakly.

"Alright, guys." Yankumi cheered. "Are you ready?!"

"Oh!" The whole class cheered.

Later that evening, Hinako was so nervous. She was changed into another outfit for the third time when there was a knock at her door. When she opened it, she was greeted by a very well-dressed Yamato. He was wearing an opened white buttoned shirt with a red, black, and white button-up checked flannel shirt, along with a pair of light brown pants and black boots.

"My mom made me wear this." Yamato said as he looked down at his clothes.

"Well, I like it! You look very handsome in that outfit!" Hinako smiled. "So, what do you think of my outfit? Do you like it?" She did a spin.

Hinako was wearing a pretty long-sleeved white turtleneck top that doesn't show too much along with a white knee-length lace skirt and a pair of white high heels.

"You look…beautiful."

"Thank you darling."

Hinako closed and locked her apartment door. Yamato took her hand and led her to his house. When they got there, Hinako's jaws just dropped. Yamato's house was huge. He laughed at the expression on Hinako's face before leading her into his house. His mother greeted her and tells Yamato to set up the table and then she went back into the kitchen.

"Do you need any help? Because I be happy to help you out." Hinako asked as she noticed Yamato pouting about setting the table.

"No, you're a guest." Yamato smiled. "You can look around in the living room if you want."

Hinako walked into the living room and looked at all the photos on the walls. Most of the photos were mainly of Yamato when he was little. She heard footsteps right behind her, thinking it was Yamato she turned to see, but it wasn't. It was just an older man that she has never met before.

"Oh, hello." Hinako said.

"So…you're the girl that Yamato's been seeing…" He said by looking at Hinako from top to bottom with a very disgust look on his face. "So not only he chooses his friends poorly, but he chooses his girlfriends, poorly as well."

"You must be Yamato's father…" Hinako said as she ignored his comment. "Kinda funny, I was expecting someone who looked a little happier."

"Nani?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm just saying." Hinako shrugged. "You know, for a man who lectures others about being happy, you would think that he was happy himself. But let me say this, Yamato doesn't need a lecture about being happy from the likes of you. I'll have you know that he is very happy. Because he has friends who will never abandon him or turn their backs on him, a mother who supports him and loves him dearly, and he has someone who loves him for who he is…that's me."

"You call that happiness?!" He shook his head. "That boy will never be…"

"That's not true!" Hinako yelled. "That boy is the love of my life, and I will not stand by and let you belittle him like he's nothing. He is the bestest friend that a girl could have, and I promise he will become a better man than you'll ever dream because unlike you, he has love! I love him from the bottom of my heart! And that's real happiness!"

With that said, Mr. Ogata froze and didn't say another word. He slowly turned and was about to leave when Yamato walked in.

"Yamato…" Hinako mumbled.

"Get out of here." Yamato said as he glared at his father.

Mr. Ogata didn't say anything else. He just walked out of the room. Once the door was closed, Yamato leaned against the door frame and smiled at her.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did." He nodded. "And you know what?"

"What?"

Yamato slowly made his way to Hinako. "It makes me love you even more."

"Oh, really?" Hinako playfully rolled her eyes.

That night Hinako had dinner with Yamato and his mom. They laugh together, they joked together, and had a good time together. Yamato decided to take a picture of himself and Hinako together with his phone. After dinner, he walked her home and kissed her goodnight.

"I know I've said this already, but I love you." He smiled.

"I love you too." Hinako smiled.

Later Yamato arrived back home and made his way upstairs to his room. He stepped inside and closed the door right behind him. Not that his door was closed, he plopped down on his bed with a sigh. He realizes how exhausted he was.

"What a day…" He said to himself. "And what an evening I had…"

Still laying on his bed, Yamato goes from staring at the ceiling of his room to digging his pocket pulling out his phone. Flipping it open, Yamato scrolled through it for a moment before he finds what he's looking for and stops at a picture. It was the picture that he took of himself and Hinako. He smiled at the picture and went to bed.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Hello! Thank you so much for reading! Thank you to those of you who followed, favorited or even commented on my story! It really does mean a lot to me.**

 **In the next episode, it will be focusing on Izumi. So, you better get ready!**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **Ojou: literally means "queen" or "princess", but it can also be a title for a noblewoman in a very high position.**

 **Yakuza: the Japanese mafia.**

 **Mutsugoro is the nickname of a famous Japanese naturalist/animal lover, Hata Masanori.**


	15. Episode 11 (Izumi's Episode)

Episode 11: Think more about your parents' feelings!

After Yamato and Hinako confess their feelings to each other, they've officially announced their relationship to the whole class. Everyone, including their group of friends, cheer almost as if they saw their relationship coming. They even put Hinako's desk right next to Yamato's desk. On the other hand, Yankumi was dazed about them being a couple. First, she started to wonder when the idea of Hinako and Yamato having feelings for each other even begin, and then she started to wonder how Hinako could be with her destined man and she couldn't. Since Hinako was in such a good mood, she just let it slide. Today, it was meant to be another day at Akadou's Class 3-D, but it wasn't…this time it was different…

One morning Hinako was very sleepy at school. It was hard for her to keep her eyes open, so she put her head on her hands and tried to stay awake. But the boys didn't miss her unusual behavior. Normally Hinako was always very attentive and alerted. But today, she wasn't.

"What's wrong with you, Hinako?" Ren was the first to ask her.

"Oh, nothing. Really…" Hinako quickly replied as she tries to smile. "Just had a rough night…I was up late studying really hard for the mid-term exams that are coming up."

"Mid-term exams?" Kura made a silly face. "You're actually preparing for it?"

"Well, of course I do." Hinako replied. "I really care a lot about my grades, because I want to go to university."

"Really?" The boys seemed to be very impressed.

"Do you already know what job you want to do?" Ichi asked, curiously.

"Yes, I do." Hinako smiled. "I want to become…a teacher."

With that said, the 6 boys' jaws just dropped as they looked at her in shock.

"That's a great job for you!" Hinako shrieked when Yankumi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stepped into their conversation. "There is still plenty of time for you to study until graduation, but I think it's great that you're already thinking about your future."

"Yes, that's amazing Hinako. I still don't know what I'm going to do after school. I don't even have the slightest idea." Kura sighed. "But I know that will be very difficult to find a job…"

"Guys listen…" Yankumi stepped to front. "Don't be so undetermined. People might often tell you that you're worthless or even stupid, but if you work really hard on your dreams, they may come true one day. Just don't give up right from the beginning."

The 3-D boys were not very persuaded, but they were afraid of one of their teacher's long speeches, so they kept their mouths shut and listen to her.

"And as for you, Takaishi." Yankumi smiled motherly at her female student. "Don't overwork yourself. You already look really worn out today. Even if you have high ambitions, you should have fun and try to enjoy your high school days."

"Hai." Hinako gives her a nod.

"Geez…" Izumi whined rising from her sleep in the desk in front of Hinako. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and turned to glare at her friends. "You guys are so loud I can't get any of my beauty sleep. Let me sleep..." With that said, Izumi went back to sleep, leaving the 7 teens with puzzling looks on their faces.

It was hours after the final bell of the school day, the sky was dark and there was a slight breeze in the air. The stars were out by the time the team of 8 reach the downtown area. Kura mentioned something about the arcade, which everyone agreed with, expect for Izumi.

"Gomen!" Izumi called out. "I have to go to work now!"

"What work?"

"A night job." Izumi stated. "Actually, I've been offered a great job. So, I'll probably take it. It's about time I think about the future seriously, right? It's not like we can be like this forever. Right, Hinako?" Hinako felt bad for her as everyone stared at her with an unusual look.

"That's great Izumi!" Hinako stated. "Do your best ok?" She gave Izumi a thumbs up since it didn't seem like anyone else was supporting her.

"Ja ne!" Izumi said as she smiled. Before they could ask her anything, she took off.

"What's with her?" Honjo asked.

As Izumi skipped away, Hinako and Yamato noticed Ren was still staring at her.

"What's wrong, Ren?" She asked.

"Nothing…" Ren said, shaking his head at her. He stood there for a few more seconds before he starts walking away. Yamato takes Hinako's hand and following Ren.

Later that night, everyone parted ways as Yamato, Hinako, and Ren continued wondering around. That's when Ren noticed Yamato and Hinako acting all lovey-dovey. He even saw Yamato kissed her on the cheek. "EW! Man, I'm a third wheel here!" Ren complained, earning both a laugh from the two lovebirds. "Well, I'll see you two lovebirds tomorrow! Ja ne!" Ren said as he did a peace-symbol and went left as Yamato and Hinako turned right at the corner.

Hinako smiled brightly and jumped on Yamato as he piggy backed her all the way to her apartment. When they got there, the two give each other a good-night kiss.

The next morning Hinako woke up to her phone vibrating on her nightstand beside her bed, indicated that she got a message. It was from Yamato.

Hey, Hinako ^^

I will be waiting for you in front of the school gates.

Yamato 😊

Hinako smiled at the text message. She replied back quickly.

Okay, sweetie! ^^

I'll see you there!

Hinako xoxo

After that, Hinako got up and started to get dressed. Once she walked out of the door of her apartment and locked the door, Hinako starts walking to school, seeing groups of various students walking on the sidewalks. As she was getting nearer to the school gates, she saw a familiar boy with a bright smile, printed on his face.

"Hey, sweetie." Hinako said.

"Hey, babe…" Yamato replied.

With that said, they walked into the school together holding hands, and to their classroom.

A few minutes later, Yankumi walked in.

"Good morning, everyone!" Yankumi cheerfully stepped into the classroom. Immediately she saw Izumi's empty desk. "Is Sakurai absent?"

"Isn't she working?" Ren stated.

"Even during the day?" Yankumi replied, with a surprised look on her face.

"I heard she's been making a lot of money lately." Kura announced.

"It looks like she hasn't been going home, either." Honjo added.

"Really?" Yankumi said, looking surprised.

"Yeah." Yamato nodded.

"Mi-chan said it was a night job…but I wonder what she is doing?" Kamiya said.

"I hope she didn't get into some dangerous business." Hinako said, looking worried.

Yankumi looked deep in thought, speaking about it in some yakuza slang. "I hope Sakurai hasn't gotten herself in some risky shit." An odd silence over took the class the type of quiet Yankumi always wanted but obviously this wasn't one of the best times for it. All her students slowly looked at their teacher in disbelief.

"Risky shit?" They repeated.

"Baka…" Ren muttered.

"She's bringing it on herself." Yamato quietly pointed causing Hinako to nod.

"Welcome to my world…" Hinako added.

Judging from that, Yankumi realized what she did and tried to cover up her mistake. How she still keeps her background a secret is something Yamato, Ren, and Hinako would never know.

Right after school, the 7 teens to their usual place they go to but for once they became silent when Izumi entered the room, wearing some make-up and a pretty cute outfit. Her hairstyle was pretty cute as well.

"Yo, long time no see." Izumi said. "Doing good?"

When Hinako turned to her then jumped back. "What happened to you, Izumi?!" She shouted.

At his sudden action, everyone else turned to them. All their eyes widened and looked at Izumi up and down. The boys didn't know what to say.

"What are you wearing?!" Ren shouted. "It looks like something my sister wears when she goes to her night job."

"Well yeah, I'm working at a cabaret club as a cabaret girl." Izumi stated. "It's no big deal."

"No big deal…?" Kamiya stepped forward. He slowly looked behind him. Izumi looked over his shoulder to see Hinako scaring him and the others with his famous glare.

Ren came over and turned to glared at Izumi. "Did your boss tell you to wear this?" He growled.

"Yeah, so what?" Izumi glared right back. "The owner told me, your value won't increase unless you wear expensive-looking stuff."

"We've been worried because you weren't coming to school lately." Ichi said.

"You know, I'm really busy nowadays." Izumi said. "A night job takes lot of effort. Working at a cabaret club as a cabaret girl is a lot of work. If I keep working hard, they might make me the number one hostess. The guy that I'm working for seems to be some big shot. Obviously, working under such a guy make me want to work even harder."

"You're not doing some dangerous jobs are you?" Ren asked looking annoyed, but Hinako and Yamato could tell he was concerned.

"What?" Izumi talked as if he was laughing in her face. "What're you saying? You sound like Yankumi right now."

"We're just worried about you." Yamato said as he put down his drink and glared at Izumi.

With that said, Izumi seemed so high of herself. Izumi was talking in a superior tone to them as if she was queen compared to them just because of a job.

"Well…why don't you worry about yourselves instead?" Izumi asked, with attitude. "You still haven't chosen jobs yet, right?" When she said that, Izumi starts laughing. Before any of the boys had the chance to act, Hinako stepped up and slapped Izumi in the face. The boys stared in shock, especially Yamato, because they never saw Hinako like that. She was always the one holding them back or comforting them the most.

"Don't think you can talk to us so high and mighty just because you got yourself a job and you're rich!" Hinako scolded. "I supported you before because you still seemed like Sakurai Izumi, now you seem just like another rich girl showing off her money!" Izumi now looked shocked. The one who always gave her support before was now scolding her.

"Of course, being rich doesn't anything to you!" Izumi yelled back once she got over her shock. "Unlike you, I get money from working hard by looking pretty and wearing cute clothes! Not wearing some stupid maid costume and working part-time at a maid café, like you!" Even more angered, Hinako grabs her black shirt and pushed her to the wall. "Leave...now..."

"Fine, I'm out of here. I'm busy, so I'm gonna go now." With that Izumi put down a bill and stomped out of the door after saying, "It's my treat today." Yamato stood up and gave the fuming Hinako a hug, surprisingly it calmed her down right away.

"What?" She asked as the boys looked at her.

"You slapped Izumi." Ren replied. "And you yelled at her." Hinako started blushing as she realized what she did.

"I'm so sorry!" Hinako yelled as she tried to hide herself in Yamato's chest. "Did I really lose control and do that to her? My best friend!" The boys replied yes while Yamato just nodded. "I'm sorry, you guys I…" She began stuttering on her words.

"It's fine, Hinako." Ren said, proudly. "I would've done it myself if you didn't stand up. But I'm gonna be honest with you, I didn't want to because I don't hit girls." Ren threw her a thumbs up, making her smile again.

"Her attitude really…" Honjo muttered sourly, earning nods from everyone. They said goodbye and paid for their drinks before leaving.

Elsewhere, Yankumi was looking for Izumi's house.

"This is the address…" Yankumi muttered to herself as she turned her gaze away from the paper in her hand and looked up at the house that stood before her. Her only concern was Izumi and finding her house to figure out what was going on.

"What? She hasn't been home for a whole week?" Yankumi looked at Izumi's parents in shock.

"No, she comes home to get a change of clothes…" Sakurai Takumi said.

"But she doesn't tell me where she's staying no matter how much I ask." Sakurai Kaori added.

"Have you both been in touch with her?" Yankumi asked.

"Yeah, she answers when I call her cellphone, so it's okay." Kaori stated.

"Cellphone, that's…"

"We're worried that if we bug her too much, she might stop taking my calls, too." Takumi said.

"I feel ashamed for being such a weak mother…" Kaori stated. "Maybe…because we're not related by blood."

"Kaori…" Takumi muttered.

"Huh?" Yankumi looked at them with a surprised look on her face.

Before she ask anything else, Izumi walked in.

"Izumi." Kaori said.

"What are you doing here, Yankumi?" Izumi asked.

"I came to speak to your parents because you seemed a little weird lately." Yankumi replied.

"Huh?" Izumi looking surprised. "There's nothing weird with me. I'm still me, just better. I have a job, that's all."

"Job?" Izumi's parents looked at her with surprised looks.

"You haven't told your parents yet?" Yankumi asked.

"I was planning to tell them when it was official." Izumi stated. "And then I'm going to live on my own."

"Sakurai." Yankumi walks up to her. "Why don't the four of us talk this through? And tell your parents about your work properly, too."

"That's too much trouble…" Izumi said, looking annoyed.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sakurai, if that's okay with you two." Yankumi said.

"You know, high school isn't mandatory. I'm almost 18. An adult. Parents have nothing to do with it anymore." Izumi said.

"They do." Yankumi replied.

"They don't!" Izumi shouted.

"It's okay Izumi." Mrs. Sakurai stood up. "Your father and I won't force you if you're unwilling."

"Sit down. Talk to your parents." Yankumi said as she grab Izumi's arm.

"That's too annoying." Izumi said, shoving her away.

"What do you mean? You have to tell your parents these things." Yankumi said.

"You mean…my 'foster' parents." Izumi replied as she was looking at her parents. "I already told you both it's annoying. Don't interfere in everything I do."

"Yes. We know." Mrs. Sakurai said as she and her husband nodded their heads.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sakurai, you call yourselves her parents?" Yankumi shouted, which surprised Izumi and her parents. "Why are you trying to be so accommodating with your child? Whether she hates her home or school, it's a parent's job to make their children obey. When children are walking the wrong path…shouldn't you both go to any length to get her back on track?"

With that said, Izumi's parent didn't know what to say.

"You were the one who told me to decide my future, right?" Izumi asked. "I'm trying to find a job and become independent! Don't complain now!" With that, Izumi leaves by walking out the door.

"Please excuse her." Mrs. Sakurai said as she and her husband bowed to Yankumi.

"No, it's fine." Yankumi replied.

"Children turn into adults while we're not looking." Mrs. Sakurai stated. "Not too long ago, she was following us around and yelling Mama, Papa!"

"You said you're not related by blood…" Yankumi stated. "Why is that?"

"She's the daughter of my childhood friend, Suzuki Mizuki." Mrs. Sakurai stated.

"You mean…the famous violinist?!" Yankumi said, looking at her in shock.

"Yes…" Mr. Sakurai nodded.

"I better explain…" Mrs. Sakurai added as she started to explain Izumi's dark past.

Elsewhere, Yamato was walking Hinako home...

"Yamato, I'm getting really worried for Izumi." Hinako said as they were walking to her apartment. "I know she's really bad right now, enough to make me angry, but still…" Yamato slowed himself as he would be walking behind her. When Hinako was in front of him, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and put his head on hers, as they walked.

"Don't worry okay?" He asked. "If she is doing something dangerous, you know we'll come save her." Hinako nodded, trusting Yamato. When they got to her apartment, Yamato kissed her goodnight and was about to leave until Hinako called for him. "Yamato…can you stay with me tonight? I don't feel like sleeping alone."

Yamato chuckled at her timidness and followed her to her apartment. Of course, he first called his mother to let her know where he was. After taking a shower and putting her pj's on, Hinako get into her bed while Yamato sleeps her couch. But Hinako grabbed his shirt and pulled him back. "Why don't you sleep with me?" Hinako suggested as she moved aside and patted the other side of the bed.

Yamato didn't have to think it over, he just climbed into the bed next to her. As soon as he got in, he pushed his arm behind her, and pulled her into a tight hug. "Y-Yamato?"

"Shh…" He cooed into her ear. "Let's sleep with you in my arms." Hinako blushed as she felt Yamato breathing on her neck.

"I didn't think you were such a cuddler." Hinako whispered quietly, getting a small smile from him. "But that's why I like you." She kissed him lightly on the nose. Yamato run his finger across her forehead and kissed it. Both of them closed their eyes and fell asleep in that position.

The next day when Yankumi was taking attendances, no one was surprised to see Izumi absent again. "I guess Sakurai's absent again." Yankumi said.

"Who cares about that girl?" Kura retorted. "She doesn't deserve our pity."

"Did something happen?" Yankumi asked worriedly as she walked up to him.

"She pisses me off!" Honjo responded.

"What exactly happened?" Yankumi asked. Yamato and Hinako let the five boys explain what happened yesterday, they even explained that Hinako slap Izumi right in the face not once, but twice.

"So, you're saying you guys aren't friends anymore?" Yankumi asked. Before anyone could talk, Hinako stood up.

"Of course, we're friends!" She replied by shouting which surprised all the 3-D boys. "But that wasn't our friend Izumi that we know. It's some pompous princess that acts all high and mighty just because she has a job before anyone else." With that said, Yankumi seemed a bit satisfied with Hinako's answer, but she lectured them anyways since no one else answered.

"Maybe Sakurai has an attitude now." Yankumi said. "But she wasn't able to see her future and was losing confidence. Isn't she desperately trying to find what she's good at? At a time like that, if someone accepts you…of course you would get a little arrogant. However…isn't Sakurai feeling just as insecure as all of you?" After that, Yankumi goes back to the front desk to take attendances.

Throughout the day it wasn't hard to see the others so down about what happened. Hinako decided to bring some life into the classroom again.

"Yamato..." Hinako whispered. "Throw a ball of paper around. It feels weird seeing them so quiet." Yamato rolled his eyes at Hinako's childish suggestion, but it did seem like something that would cheer them up a bit. Hinako ran up to Yankumi to share her idea before doing it. As she sat back down at her desk and Yankumi quickly turned around, Yamato threw a paper ball at the back of Yankumi's head.

"Who threw that?" Yankumi asked, pretending to be angry. Hinako and Yamato pointed to Ren, who turned to them confused.

"EH?!" Ren cried. "ME?! I WAS JUST SITTING HERE!" Yankumi pretended to get angrier that he would accuse another student and threw the paper ball at Ren. He crumpled up another paper and threw it at Yamato who ducked, making it hit Hinako. She smiled as she saw Ren getting excited again.

"Kazama Ren!" She called out. "Take this!" Hinako chuckled another ball at him, but he ducked so she hit Honjo instead, causing the class to laugh. Honjo chuckled and tried throwing the paper back at her. However, his aim was way off since he somehow hit Kura all the way to the right.

"HONJO!" Kura yelled as she began chasing Honjo around the classroom.

'This is the classroom I know and love.' Hinako thought to herself as she held Yamato's hand. Ren looked at them and felt happy for his friend Yamato.

After school, the 7 teens went to their usual place again. They were discussing about Izumi and her job. Yamato just sat there observing and analyzing what he's hearing. For the first time, Yamato spoke a few sentences. "Izumi said she was still an apprentice, right?" Yamato asked, gaining their attention. "Don't you think it's strange they're paying her so much?" Hinako realized he was right.

"Maybe…" Ren said, thinking aloud. "Night jobs have high pay?"

"That doesn't seem likely." Hinako replied, but she agreed with Yamato. It does seem kind of strange.

"What's wrong?" Ren asked, noticing Yamato thinking in deep thought.

"It seems too good to be true." Yamato stated. Sometimes, it was good to someone as quiet and observant as Yamato. He took notice of many things not much could see, but sometimes his logic can be used against you.

"You guys." A voice chimed in. "No matter what you say, you're still worried about Sakurai." Everyone nodded but then jumped once they realized it wasn't any of them who said that.

"Yankumi, you're going to give me a heart attack one day!" Hinako exclaimed as she saw down next to Yamato. Apparently Yankumi was happy that they weren't giving up on their friend. Suddenly Izumi walked in with bruises and cuts bedecked her face and blood was dripping from her nose. Her breathing was unsteady and heavy. All in all she was in a pretty bad shape.

"Izumi, what happened to you?!" Hinako asked as she hurried to Izumi's side and lightly touched the black and blue bruise forming along her lower jaw, Izumi flinched hissing in pain.

"Who did this to you?!" Ren asked as he and the others stood up and hurried to her side.

Izumi didn't say a word. She just turned her head from Hinako's touch.

"It's nothing…" She replied quickly before turning to leave until Hinako gripped her arm before she could even leave. "Really, it's nothing. I've been a little bit more than I could chew and picked up a fight with a club bouncer. That's it!" Izumi assured Hinako that she was fine. But Hinako didn't seem assured at all. Including Yankumi and the boys. Hinako kept her grip firm on Izumi's arm.

"Come on…I'm gonna take you home." Hinako said.

"No!" Izumi shouted. "I'm not going home!"

"But your parents will get worried about you." Hinako replied.

"I don't care about those two!" Izumi replied, in a harsh tone.

Suddenly the atmosphere in the room quickly became gloomy as the boys stared at Izumi, and she could feel the full force of six sad accusing looks.

"What's with you, Izumi?" Yamato starts to speak. "Don't you understand how they feel?"

"Course, I do." Izumi answered, staring at the floor.

"Then why don't you go home?" Ren demanded.

"It's none of your business!" Izumi resorted angrily.

"Aren't you being cold on them?" Honjo said.

"I thought you were better than that." Kamiya added. "But you're being awful."

Yankumi and Hinako watched curiously as Izumi looked close to tears.

"It's not that simple." Izumi said, which was not enough of an explanation for the boys.

"Be more understanding to them." Ichi suggested which pushed Izumi a little too far.

"You're being awful Izumi!" Kura added, continued to push her more.

"What do you guys understand?" Izumi asked, angrily.

"Yeah, we don't understand!" Ren replied, getting to his feet. "How can you be so cold to your parents like that…I don't understand that at all!"

As questions and judgments echoed around the room from the boys, Yankumi and Hinako could see Izumi coming to a decision and answer.

"Because I'm not really their child!" Izumi shouted, which instantly silenced the boys and the entire room as well. "I'm a foster child. I found out three years ago when I got up one night to get myself a cup of water when suddenly I overheard my so-called 'parents' talking about me being adopted. I've learned that my real mother gave me for adoption when I was an infant. I know she had her reasons, but sometimes I feel like I can't forgive her for leaving me all alone."

"I'm actually jealous of you, Izumi!" Hinako said. "I think you're so lucky to be a foster child Because if you really didn't have any other relatives left, then the folks who took you in as a daughter must be really truly kindhearted people."

"Is that so? Then, shall I tell you guys a big secret?" Izumi asked. "It's about my foster parents. It's kind of complicated, and they're really nice people, but I'm not their real child, yet they raised me, which I really do appreciate. But, one day, I found some documents inside a little drawer. Those documents showed that my foster parents are…paid to look after me."

"Really?" Hinako asked, looking at her in shock along with Yankumi and the boys.

"Really…" Izumi nodded. "It was a letter from the government. It said something about how they were going to increase the subsidy for me."

"But I'm sure there was a reason for that." Yankumi said.

"I don't care what the reason is!" Izumi replied, by shouting. "They wouldn't get that money if I was their real child. It's because I'm not and that they get paid. And even worse, they hide it from me."

"I can see why that would hurt, but that doesn't mean they don't love you." Yankumi stated.

"Seriously?!" Izumi said. "Don't you see? None of the other kids in the building get money. Only we do. And they would always have these worried looks, as if I'm going to find out about it, and then…I hate myself for worrying about this, too. I can't…I can't believe in anything anymore." With that, Izumi burst into tears as she was both crying and sobbing. Everyone looked at her in shock. And then without warning, she fled out the door.

Ren let out a breath as he realized her dilemma. Izumi didn't think she had the right to be their daughter. She wanted to but didn't think she could. Although he felt for her, he knew it was stupid. Family doesn't always have to be all about blood relation. Looking at Yankumi's family, she and her grandfather were the only ones directly related, but he had never seen as loving a family as their odd conglomeration.

"I didn't know Izumi was adopted." Ichi said, with a surprised look on his face.

"Me neither." Kura added.

"Yes, her parents told me everything. Izumi's real mother is Suzuki Mizuki, who was a childhood friend of her foster mother's Sakurai Kaori." Yankumi stated.

"You mean…the famous violinist Suzuki Mizuki?!" Ren said.

"Yes…that's her real mother." Yankumi nodded.

While Hinako and the boys stood there in shock and then they just sat down, wondering what to do now, until Hinako stood up. "Hey." She said softly, but everyone immediately paid attention. "Let's go look for her." Those five words were all it took for them to leap out of their seats and they all ran out. They split up into groups of 2, 2, and 4.

Elsewhere, Izumi was walking around until she was met by a strange sensation. Did she get paranoid or were they really watched? Izumi looked around but could not see anyone. Just the usual men and women getting home from their work or business. Izumi starts to feel a little uneasy and tried to focus her mind on something else. Suddenly a chill run down her spine when she heard footsteps coming behind her. She turned around but there was no one there.

Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and put a piece of cloth over her nose and mouth. Next thing she knew, everything went black. When she woke up, she found herself inside some warehouse and was tied up to a chair with rope, so that she was unable to move. Why does it always have to be warehouses?

"Oh good, the bitch has awakened." Izumi's eyes widened at the familiarity of that voice. Izumi looked up to see the boss of the cabaret club named Kitagawa-san who she was working for along with his gang of thugs smirking at her.

"Don't be afraid, girl. It's nothing personal. We going to punish you for costing a lot of damage from that little fight you cost earlier today inside my club."

Kitagawa nodded to one of his men. One of the men picked her off from the chair and held her arms behind her. He looked at Izumi's body from the right and then to the left and smiled. Suddenly Izumi's cellphone starts ringing. He puts his hand into her pocket pulling out her phone.

"Looks like one of your friends is trying to call you." He said.

Izumi struggled as he answered Hinako's number and put it on speaker. "Moshi, moshi. Izumi?"

"Hinako, help! Please hel..." The guy who was holding Izumi put his hand over her mouth.

"Izumi?! Oi, Izumi!"

Kitagawa-san smirked at Izumi and put the phone to his ear. "If you want your friend back, come and get her if you want..."

He hung up and threw her cellphone across the warehouse. Izumi bit her capture's hand and then kicked him right in the chin making him release her. She makes a run for it, but Kitagawa-san immediately grabbed her. "Now, now. Don't leave. The party is just getting started." He laughed as Izumi struggled harder. Then he threw her to his crew of thugs who ganged up on her and started punching her, kicking her, even touching her and calling her a slut or whore or things just like that. Izumi started to cry as their kicks and punches kept hitting the same place over and over again. She wanted her friends to come and save her.

Then Kitagawa-san grabbed Izumi's hair as she glared up at him.

"Let's have some fun here, shall we?" He began ripping her shirt off as she started to cry even harder. He threw pieces of her shirt to his men. They cheered while grabbing the pieces. Izumi crossed both her arms, but Kitagawa had one of his men hold both her hands above her head. "Now, let's see what you're hiding down here." He moved his hand down her stomach to her skirt. Izumi closed her eyes. Suddenly his hands stopped.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on my student!" A female voice shouted.

Izumi opened her eyes as her head rocketed upwards, because she knew in an instant who the voice belonged to. A small figure stepped through the door and Kitagawa and his thugs were really surprised to see Yankumi. They looked at each other in disbelief.

"And who the hell are you, freaky bitch?" Kitagawa asked, amused.

"Me? I'm that girl's homeroom teacher." Yamaguchi said, in a calm voice and stepped closer.

"Her teacher?" Kitagawa and his gang broke out into laughter, but Yankumi did not really seem offended by that.

"I would like you to release my student now." Yankumi said, still tried to be diplomatic. "I guess you took care of her well enough."

"Stop joking around!" Kitagawa-san shouted. "What are you going to do? Try to scold us with boredom?"

Yankumi sighed. "I guess you're not someone I can reason with. Now, you don't give me a choice." Suddenly the air around Yankumi changed. Yankumi now looked very determined and dangerous as she pulled the two hair ties out of her hair. "For my precious students, I will do anything to protect them, because that is the job of a teacher. Whether the student is a boy or a girl; they will must be treasured and protected. It was not right to drag an innocent girl into a warehouse and beat the crap out of her." Yankumi shook her head so that her dark black hair whirled like fire around her head. "It's not very gentleman-like to kidnap a girl. Every man hurting a woman should be ashamed of themselves." As she stepped closer, she threw away her glasses and everyone was able to see the danger in her eyes. "I will not allow someone like you to get away with such a coward act!"

And with that, all of the thugs tried to attack her, but Yankumi dodged all of them. Her moves were so fast and precise as she kicked one of them in the stomach and he was pushed against a wall. Yankumi was beating the thugs up as if she was just taking a walk.

When one of the thugs grabbed her from behind, Izumi hold her breath, but Yamaguchi kicked an attacker in front of her and then threw the guy behind her over her shoulder. When the thugs realized that there was no point in fighting this inhuman woman and took off running away like the cowards they were. Kitagawa-san was the last one left standing and he looked at her furiously. All his cockiness and satisfaction was long gone. With a desperate cry he pulled his knife out of his pocket and stormed toward her direction.

"Yankumi!" The 8 teens yelled out in unison. But Yamaguchi already saw it coming and the knife went into the air. Swiftly the teacher punched Kitagawa-san right in his stomach and he fell to the ground grasping desperately for air.

"Revenge will never get you anywhere, remember this!" Yankumi said, in a very cold voice. Kitagawa-san stared up at her in disbelief and finally accept his defeat. As soon as he could in his state, he stumbled out of the warehouse.

"Izumi!" Hinako and the boys yelled as they ran up to Izumi.

"Izumi! Are you okay?" Hinako asked. "You had us worried!"

"My bad..." Izumi mumbled.

"Sakurai. Let's go back to your house, so you can apologize to your parents." Yankumi said, trying to convince her.

"But...I don't know what to say...I said some really terrible things to them..." Izumi sniffed. "And I won't be able to face them with all these bruises on my face."

"I see." Yankumi smiled as she patted Izumi's head.

Suddenly Yankumi's phone went off. As she answered the call, Hinako and surprisingly the boys gently helped Izumi stood up, making sure that they didn't touch any of her bruises. As Izumi stood up, she turned to Hinako and the boys. "Thanks, guys...I'm sorry I run off like that."

"It's fine, Izumi. We're not blaming you." Hinako replied, leaving no room for an argument. "But I swear if you worry me like that again, I swear I will slap you silly, got it?!" Hinako glared at her which scared the boys even Yamato.

"Understood." Izumi nodded when Yankumi turned to the eight.

"Sakurai! Your mom's collapsed and was rushed to the hospital!"

"Huh?!" Izumi looked at her in shock and thought for a minute.

"We better get to the hospital!" Hinako said.

Without warning, Izumi took off running. They ran after her and she leads them to the hospital. When they got inside, Izumi went up to a nurse that was walking in the hallway. "Excuse me, where is Sakurai? Sakurai Kaori?"

"Izumi?"

Izumi turned to see her father Takumi who was sitting in the waiting room of the emergency room. She went up to him. "Dad! How's Mom? Is she okay? What happened?"

"While cooking dinner, she collapsed to her knees and started to cough up blood." He starts to explain. "When I rushed her to the hospital, the doctors quickly took her to the emergency room and they're operating her right now." At that moment, Izumi couldn't move all she can do now is stand there in front of the operating room, waiting. Everyone crowded onto the small waiting room benches, while Izumi and her father paced as they waited for the doctor. Was she going to be okay? Was she going to...? Her thoughts were broken when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Izumi slowly turned to see Ren who suddenly he pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry, Izumi...your mom will be okay...I'm sure of it..."

Izumi wanted to cry, but no tears came out. She pulled away when the operation room door open. Sakurai Takumi grabbed the first doctor that came out.

"How's my wife?"

"The surgery is done, she's going to be just fine." The doctor explained. "It was just a gastric ulcer. We keep her overnight to recover." With that said, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, and Izumi smiled at Ren amused that he was right. Izumi's mother was taken to a room, where she eventually woke up in, and was happy to see her husband and daughter.

After a while, Izumi's parent took this opportunity to talk to Izumi, and to reveal the truth to her about her adoption. "Izumi." Mrs. Sakurai starts to speak. "There's something very important that your father and I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Izumi asked, curiously.

"The truth is...we're not your real parents." Mrs. Sakurai replied. "Every month, we've been receiving subsidies from the government to cover your expenses. We didn't want you to know. I don't know why but we just didn't. It just felt..."

"It's fine, Mom." Izumi smiled.

"You must believe us, Izumi." Mr. Sakurai added. "Whether or not we receive money, nothing can change how we feel about you."

"It's okay, Dad." Izumi replied as she kept smiling at them. "I already knew. For the last two years anyway. And I know my real mother is the famous violinist Suzuki Mizuki. But I am happy you told me about it anyway, and I'm really...sorry. I've been pretending that I hadn't heard and tried to act the same as I did before...But in the end, I couldn't do it. So, I absorbed myself into my schoolwork, and study hard to become a doctor in order to hide my true self." With that said, both of her parents looked at each other and then looked back at her with smiles.

"It's fine if you're interested in becoming a doctor." Mrs. Sakurai smiled. "That's your own personal interest...but you really are exactly like your real father."

"My real father?" Izumi looked at her mother, curiously.

"His name was Takazaki Giichi, and he was a genius doctor who helped saved thousands of lives. But then his own health went downhill after he unexpectedly died from cancer before you were even born." Mrs. Sakurai replied.

"Is that so...?" Izumi looked really surprised.

"We were planning to tell you when you became officially an adult, but...I'm sorry." Mr. Sakurai looked at her with a sad look.

"It's okay, Dad...I've already forgiven you both." Izumi said, smiling. "Thank you for telling my truth..."

"By the way, how did you know your real mother was Suzuki Mizuki?" Mr. Sakurai asked, curiously.

"After I found I was adopted, I went to meet her in person two years ago." Izumi replied.

"Really?" Mrs. Sakurai said as she and her husband looked at her in shock.

"Yes..." Izumi nodded. "It was around two years ago at Tokyo's Music Hall..."

 _~Flashback: Two Years Ago~_

 _Izumi went to see the music hall to meet her biological mother for the first time in her life..._

 _When Suzuki Mizuki walked and saw Izumi, she didn't know what to say. But then she spoke. "Your eyes...Those combative eyes are a present from him. And that strong, volitively jaw is my lineage. Your bow legs..."_

 _"Please stop!" Izumi interrupted her._

 _"Does Kaori...I mean...do your parents know that you came to see me?" Mizuki asked._

 _"No, I haven't told them." Izumi replied. "They don't even know that I knew."_

 _"I see." Mizuki sighed. "So, why did you come?"_

 _"Why?! Isn't it obvious?!" Izumi shouted. "The person who I believed to be my mother, but actually isn't at all! Don't you think I'd like to know under what circumstances I was born?"_

 _"You're right..." Mizuki smiled as she started to laugh._

 _"It's nothing to laugh about!" Izumi yelled out._

 _"I'm sorry." Mizuki replied. "I'm happy to see you grew up so nicely and pretty. You're the child born between Giichi and I."_

 _"Huh?" Izumi looked at her with confusion._

 _"I met him when I was studying here in Tokyo. He was a wonderful doctor. But then, his own health declined when he died from cancer before you were even born. That was around eighteen years ago. At that same time, I found out I was pregnant with you. I just became a soloist, which had been a dream of mine since I was a child. I thought if they knew about my pregnancy, I would be kicked out of that position. But my body reacted..." Mizuki explained. "Not giving birth to you was unimaginable. But...I couldn't give up on my music either."_

 _"So, that's when you gave up for adoption?" Izumi asked._

 _"Yes." Mizuki nodded. "Kaori was my childhood friend. She knew I'd be lost without my violin. So, I ask her and her husband if they could adopt you and raised you as their own daughter. I told them to reveal the truth when you were officially an adult. I thought you would be old enough to fully understand..."_

 _"So...all this time...my existence was nothing but a burden to you." Izumi said, feeling tears running down her face. "Did you ever regret abandoning me?"_

 _"Never." Mizuki replied. "I always lived without regrets. I think that this is the only kind of love that I, who chose music, could give you."_

 _"I don't get it! You're just living selfishly!" Izumi yelled out loud._

 _With that said, Mizuki sighed and look toward the stage. "Only people who have completely devoted themselves to music can stand there..."_

 _"Those who stand there might only be a handful of people, but there's only one mother." Izumi said, as her tears kept rolling down her face. With that said, Mizuki didn't say another word._

 _"Goodbye Mom...I love you..." Izumi said, before leaving without looking back._

 _~Flashback Ended~_

"I'm sorry I never told you that..." Izumi said. "But it's okay now, I'm really happy, and proud to be your daughter." Overjoyed by that, Kaori and Takumi tearfully hugged Izumi, and thanked her for letting her and Takumi be her parents.

The very next day at school, Yankumi tells the eight about how Kitagawa-san and his bar were put into the newspaper and that the school hadn't found out that Izumi worked there.

"So lucky!" Hinako exclaimed as she leaned into Yamato. "Welcome back though Izumi!"

"Yamato's the lucky one!" Ren pointed out.

"Yeah." Kamiya added. "He has a pretty girlfriend to show off." Their friends began teasing them as Hinako blushed and tried to hide her smile but was betrayed by her dimples. Yamato poked them and kiss her softly on both cheeks before leaning back in his chair smirking.

"Awww!" Yankumi squealed. "You two look so cute together! I can't wait until you get married and give me grandkids." The 8 teens had their eyes widened when they heard that.

"Yankumi...don't you think you're going fast than we are?" Yamato asked, curiously.

"Yeah, we're not even married." Hinako added.

With that said, Yankumi started daydreaming about her crush Natsume-sensei and squealing about it.

"Well, at least things are back to the way they are..." Izumi said, sighed happily.

And just like that, they did.

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **Hi, everyone! I apologize for the long delay. Also, I want to say thank you so much for reading the story so far! Even if you're super frustrated because you want to know what's happens next. But I'm going to honest with you, I was definitely frustrated writing this chapter because I was having a hard time coming up with Izumi's backstory.**

 **In the next chapter, it will be focusing on Hinako and her dark past. I'm so excited about writing it! I might burst with excitement! :3**

 **Also, a gastric ulcer is a sore that develops on the lining of the esophagus, stomach, or small intestine. But it can be treated by medical professionals.**

 **~Cultural Notes~**

 **In Japan, two types of bars are hostess clubs and kyabakura, a portmanteau of kyabarē (lit. cabaret) and kurabu (lit. club). Hostesses who work at kyabakura are known as kyabajō, meaning cabaret girl, and many of them use professional names called "genji name". Hostesses light cigarettes, provide beverages for men, offer flirtatious conversation, and sing karaoke to entertain customers. Some host clubs also specialize in transgender women hosts. Hostesses can be seen as the modern counterpart of geishas, providing entertainment to groups of salarymen after work. A club will often also employ a female bartender, who is usually well-trained in mixology, and may also be the manager or mamasan. Hostess clubs are distinguished from strip clubs in that there is no dancing, prostitution, or nudity.**

 **I got ideas for Izumi's backstory from the AKB48 Drama called Sakura kara no Tegami which is a Japanese drama that mainly features members of the Idol group AKB48. The show was aired from February 26, 2011 to March 2, 2011.**


	16. Episode 12 Part 1 (Hinako's Episode)

Episode 12 – Part 1: A Nightmare Begins…

Morning has risen once again as Hinako flushed the toilet for the fifth time. She looked at herself in the mirror to see that she was very pale, and her hair was total big mess. She just looked terrible. But she wasn't feeling ill with a cold or anything like that. Even with a cold or fever, she would never miss school no matter what. Hinako wasn't weak when it comes to illnesses. What only drained her lately was nightmares and sleepless nights. Hinako made up her mind to stay home and rest. After all, she felt slowly breaking down somehow. Then, she called Yamato.

"Moshi, moshi."

"Hey Yamato, it's me Hinako. Listen, I'm not coming to school today. I'm feeling kinda sick."

"Are you okay?" Yamato asked. "Do you need me to come over?"

"No, I'm fine." Hinako replied. "I think I just caught a cold or maybe some kind of stomach bug. Anyway, can you please tell Yankumi that I'm not feeling good and that hopefully I'll be back to school by tomorrow?"

"Sure thing." Yamato answered. "I hope you get better soon and remember if you need me for anything, you let me know and I'll be right there."

"Okay, I will." Hinako smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too Hinako. Bye, bye."

"Bye, bye."

After Hinako hung up and poured herself a glass of water. She sipped it while looking at her calendar on the wall. Today was circled in black, so that wat she won't forget, which was kinda pointless to her. How could she forget the day her brother was murdered. As she placed her glass down, Hinako puts her hand on her forehead. She wasn't running a fever, but she's been throwing up all morning and doesn't know why. Hinako thought maybe it was just her nerves for today. Yeah, it's probably just nerves. What else could it be? After she finished drinking her water, she went back to laid down on her bed and drifted off into her sleep.

 _~Dream~_

 _At the hospital, Hinako was witnessing doctors who were checking someone's vitals to no avail. Hinako was in shock and does not say anything until she lifted her head and screamed out._

" _HIROKI!"_

Hinako screamed as she threw herself forward with wide alert eyes, looked around and saw that she was back in her apartment. She sucked in air until it hurt her lungs and starts to cough loudly. Her body shook badly as she was drenched in sweat and most likely tears. It was just a bad dream. Just another horrible dream. Nothing to freak out about. She was okay, perfectly okay. With a shuddered sigh, Hinako cover her face with her hands. She would start having those nightmares the day of…they would always make her heart start racing so fast she could hear it by the minute.

Anyway, she got up and went into the kitchen to fix some soup, so she wouldn't upset her stomach. Thankfully, it worked. Hearing the door bell ringing caught Hinako off-guard. 'I wonder who that could be?' Hinako thought to herself as she slowly made her way towards the door. She opened it, only to be speechless seeing Yankumi and the others stormed into her apartment.

Kura quickly first took a seat on her couch and hugged a pillow, daydreaming. "You have a nice home here!" He said.

Kura, Kamiya, Ichi, and Honjo learned that Hinako lived alone, and they added that she's so lucky that she lives alone in such a nice luxury apartment. Ren and Izumi passed-by Hinako and they both sat next to Kura at the couch. "Are you feeling alright, Takaishi?" Yankumi asked as she checked her forehead for a fever.

"I don't have fever, or even a cold." Hinako mumbled as she tried to close the door. Only a shoe prevented her from doing so. As she opened the door again to see who it was, she saw Yamato. She blinked a few times and let him in. Yamato gazed at her with a smile without saying a word and then walked inside.

"You guys didn't have to come, I'm just a little tired." Hinako explained as she sit down at the little coffee table. Honjo, Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya were all over the place looking around in the apartment. They even went into Hinako's wardrobe to look at her cute clothes, including her patties. "Hinako has cute outfits in here." Ichi said, happily.

"Yeah, including her underwear!" Honjo agreed.

Yamato, Ren, and Izumi glared at them with rage. "You didn't even ask Hinako to look into her closet!" Izumi yelled out at them. "What is she had personal belongings in there?!"

But the boys just ignored her and went on looking. They remained there for a few more minutes as Hinako made some ramen for everyone, until it was time for them to go. Yamato asked one more time to see if Hinako would be fine on her own. Hinako nodded, ensuring them that there was nothing to worry about. Yamato gave her one last glance and left with the others.

Everyone made it home safe. Only Yamato was the one wondering around. He kept his pace nice and slow, step after step. His hands crossed behind his back. He wasn't pay any attention to where he was going. It was only when his puzzled mind was dropped back to reality, and he found himself outside of Hinako's apartment.

He saw Hinako walking out of her apartment and locked it. Yamato noticed that Hinako was dressed in funeral-wear. He quickly hide behind some trash cans so that way she couldn't see him. Then he follows Hinako, who is leading him to the cemetery where her parents and her big brother are buried at. Hinako sat down in front of the three graves.

"Hey…" Hinako sniffed. "I know I haven't visited in a while, and I don't have any excuse for that whatsoever. But I wanted to let you guys know that I have a boyfriend. His name is Ogata Yamato. He's a really great guy and a real bad boy as well. You probably would like him, Hiroki. Because he goes to Akadou Academy just like you did. Dad, you probably wouldn't like him. I bet you would want to kill us for what we did a couple of weeks ago. But I love him…" Yamato smiled when he heard that. "And it's not puppy love I feel with him, it's real. It's pure love that is so rare these days. It's the kind of love that I saw in Mama's eyes when she looked at you, Daddy, and the same thing goes for when Daddy looked into your eyes, Mama. But seriously, I can't imagine my life without Yamato. And I hope me being with him would make you guys happy. Also, Hiroki, I wanted to let you know that I won't break my promise to you. Because I know you wanted to become a teacher. Even though, you never had the chance and never got to graduate neither. But I promise you, that I will fulfill both your dreams and goals. And I'll graduate from high school no matter what!" Hinako spent a few more minutes sitting there talking to him until she left.

Now Yamato knows why Hinako wanted to become a teacher. And he left too…

The next morning as Hinako was walking to school, until she bumped into an old classmate. Kobayashi Harumi, an old rival of Hinako's from Kuro Saigai. Although back then Harumi could never touch the top as long as Hinako was around. But since the new school year, (that Hinako transfer to Akadou along with Izumi), Harumi managed to become the number one fighter of Kuro Saigai All-Girls School. Harumi was shorter than Hinako, she was around (154cm, 5'0). Her slender neck, amazing bodyline that would always acting cute, sweet, with that fake persona of hers. Hinako knew exactly who Harumi was. The sweet words and cute act will never fool her. Hinako never needed to bother herself with Harumi. After all being the top of the school, it means you don't have to face anyone of them. Plus, Hinako doesn't bother herself with those fake friends that she had at Kuro Saigai. Sure, they've talked, but they didn't build any bonds or friendships. Hinako remembers who Harumi was.

Hinako noticed that Harumi was wearing Kuro Saigai's new school uniform which is a gray and white sailor fuku with a short skirt. Over it was a black jacket and matching black leather studded fingerless gloves. She wore shiny leopard print shoes with furry black legwarmers. Her accessories included large hoop earrings and a black studded belt. Harumi had long and straight brown hair with a quaff in the front.

'Damn! Seeing Kobayashi Harumi in the morning…that's all I need today…' Hinako thought to herself as she tried to hide her face, while walking passed by her. But of course, Harumi knew Hinako's face and she recognized her immediately. Harumi grabbed Hinako's hand, preventing her from leaving.

"Hinako…Takaishi Hinako? Is that you?" Harumi asked, with a surprised look on her face. "I heard you and Izumi have changed schools. Wait…you're going to the all-boys school called Akadou Academy, right?" Hinako placed her hand on Harumi's mouth muffing her and drags her to the next alley. "Hush!" Hinako demanded. She explain a few words of she and Izumi have transfer to Akadou due to a co-ed program they're taking part in. Hinako begged Harumi not to say anything to anyone in case of old rival gangs. Thankfully, Harumi agreed with Hinako, she was now number one at Kuro Saigai. Besides attending an all-boys school sounded somehow fun for Harumi.

"Don't worry Hinako, I won't tell anyone." Harumi promised to Hinako. And that was the truth. Harumi wouldn't say anything to anyone about her or Izumi. As Hinako walked away, Harumi revealed an evil smile on her face.

"Hinako…you'll be finished by my hand…"

When Hinako reached the school, she walked into the classroom not saying a word to anyone as she was thinking about Harumi. Only seeing Harumi meant bad news for her. With that, Hinako just sighed as she took a seat at her desk as the 3-D boys were talking about cute girls as usual. Izumi and the 6 boys tilted their heads to see Hinako like that.

So, Izumi decided to walk over and push her. "Good morning, Hinako!" She starts to tease her.

Hinako was still out of it, took a few seconds to be pull out of her thoughts. "Oh! G-Good morning, Izumi! Morning, boys!" She replied.

"Morning!" The 6 boys waved at her.

"What were you thinking about?" Ren asked, curiously.

Yamato was watching Hinako since she entered the classroom, (knowing there was something bothering her), he decided to change the subject for her by teasing her. "Maybe Hinako is thinking about me. Right?" He smirked at her.

Hinako turned and smiled at him, but then their talk was cut off as the door opened and a cute girl walked in. It seems that Harumi followed Hinako to Akadou. She really wanted to see her new school and classroom. Hinako noticed that Harumi had her hair down showing her pink highlights more. When all the 3-D boys saw Harumi, all of their jaws just dropped.

' _What a bunch of losers…_ ' Harumi thought to herself as she looked around the room seeing the 3-D boys. But when Harumi saw the 6 boys around Hinako and Izumi, felt different to her. Seeing them talking Hinako and Izumi, it means for Harumi to start her plans of revenge, starting with the 6 boys. Harumi walked over and stood before Hinako and Izumi.

"I smell trouble…" Izumi mumbled.

"Hey, Hinako! Hey, Izumi! Long time no see!" Harumi said in a sweet voice making the 3-D boys faint with happiness.

"You're a friend of Hinako and Izumi?" Kura jumped up trying to get Harumi's attention. "I'm Kuraki Satoru." He introduced himself. The others followed. Only Yamato didn't say anything and kept watching. Although Harumi seemed so cute and sweet, she was nothing like his girlfriend, the fearless Hinako.

"It's nice to meet you all! I'm Kobayashi Harumi! Hinako, Izumi, and I went to the same school together." Harumi begins to explain "I met Hinako this morning on my way to school, and she told me that she and Izumi have transfer here to Akadou Academy, so I had to come and see her and Izumi. We were good friends back at Kuro Saigai, right? Hinako? Izumi?"

Hinako was still bothered by her, but she nodded her head. "Yes, Izumi and I know Harumi from our old school Kuro Saigai." Hinako said, but she never said that they were friends.

"So, you three were friends?" Yamato asked, wanting to make sure they were _really_ friends.

"Yes, we are!" Harumi yelled out as she took a seat between Hinako and Izumi.

As the class started, everyone became silent and got in their seats as Yankumi walked in. She was surprised to see Harumi, she now understood why the boys were so quiet. After Harumi explained who she was, Yankumi let her stay. After all, she made the 3-D boys behave themselves. During class, Hinako couldn't avoid asking Harumi a question.

"Why are you here?" She whispered to Harumi.

"Oh, nothing. I'm letting you two have all the fun. Don't worry, I won't say anything. I'm just here to have some fun." Harumi revealed to her.

"That's what I'm afraid of…" Izumi mumbled.

Yamato and Ren were watching the three girls as they talked, but it seems that Hinako and Izumi don't like Harumi. But they couldn't see why. She was cute-looking and kind. (Bloody boys sometimes cannot read girls feelings at all).

When class was over, the team of 8 and Harumi agreed to go karaoke. Hinako didn't like the idea, being close to Harumi. Izumi didn't like it either. But leaving the boys alone with Harumi didn't seem right, so Hinako and Izumi decided to go along with them. Harumi was surrounded by the four boys and asking her questions, as for Yamato, Ren, and the girls they just followed them from behind. Ren and Izumi went on ahead while Yamato and Hinako stood behind them as well.

"Hinako are you okay?" Yamato asked, while whispering to her. "You seemed a bit off today, seeing an old friend."

"I'm fine. I don't want those four to be fooled so easy by Harumi..." Hinako whispered back to him.

"Fooled?" Yamato looked puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Harumi used to be an old rival of mine back then." Hinako replied.

"I see..."

Hinako starts to feel more insecure, and watching Harumi being praised by those four boys, it made her feel a bit uneasy and a bit jealous. Even made her feel sad and lonely. Although she and Izumi followed them to karaoke, everyone was having a really good time. Only Hinako and Izumi remained spacing out in their thoughts, as everyone was singing and laughing. The night ended with big smiles on their faces, as they said goodnight to Harumi.

"She's so sweet!" Kura said, feeling weightless and like he swam in love.

"You already forgot Saki-chan?" Hinako voiced at him not holding back, making him shrug.

"Such a nice girl!" Ichi said as he was dream walking.

"How stupid!" Hinako said, loudly.

This caught the four boys' attention.

"Hina-chan, what is your problem?! Attacking Rumi-chan like that!" Honjo said as he and the other three boys surrounded her.

"Yeah, isn't she your friend?" Kamiya asked, curiously.

"We thought you were cool, Hinako." Kura said. "But I never thought you would be bad mouthing a friend from behind her back!"

Yamato, Ren, and Izumi could see where this was going. If Hinako answered them, they would have a fight where they were standing. But Hinako wasn't in the mood to fight with any of them. "The four of you are idiots!" Hinako yelled out at them and then took off running as if someone was chasing after her. She could hear the boys yelling her name, but she ignored them, leaving them with confused looks on their faces.

Tomorrow Hinako's nightmare would really begin…

The next morning, Harumi went to visit Akadou Academy again. She only payed them a visit for only a minute, before class even started. Hinako was late that day, since she only managed to sleep for only a few hours. She tells them to go out with her again, and that she had fun with them last night. "I had so much fun with you guys last night! We should go out and do it again sometime! I never got why Hinako said you 3-D boys were nothing but bad news...just a bunch of losers. I don't see that at all. Well, I'll see you after school. Ja ne!" Harumi said, leaving the group of 7 with open mouths.

"Did she just say Hinako thinks were a bunch of losers?" Kura asked, feeling angry.

"Have you seen her apartment?" Kamiya asked, with his anger pressure elevating.

"I think in compare with her, we are, don't you think?" Ichi added.

"I don't know what to think." Honjo said, scratching the back of his head.

"Come on you guys, Hinako would never say things like that." Izumi voiced it clear.

"Didn't you forget what she said about Rumi-chan last night!" Kamiya reminded her.

"I agree with Izumi on this." Ren said, backing her up. "Hinako is not that kind of person."

"I'm not sure you guys." Yamato said, trying to back her up as well. "Hinako is not like that."

"Don't you remember Yamato?" Kamiya said. "The two of you used to argued with each other."

Suddenly, the door opened, and Hinako walked in. She gazed at her group of friends and smiled at them. "Good morning!" Hinako said, smiling. But she didn't get any response back.

"Hinako...do we look so low into your eyes?" Kura asked, making the whole class turning around and face them.

"Eh?" Hinako blinked with confusion. Her mind was filled with worry about Harumi and she didn't see that coming at all.

"Did you ever think of us as losers?" Kamiya asked as he crossed his hands with a serious look.

Hinako had no idea why they would pop up a question like that. And Hinako, who would always speak her mind out loud without holding back. "Well...I have..." She said, wanting to explain that the first days at Akadou were like that. But that had changed now.

The 4 jumped from their seats and walked over to Hinako and not letting her finish her sentence.

"So, you act like our friend, but you still think of us as losers?" Kura said with a disappointment on his face.

"Hinako...how could you...?" Ichi said with a sad look on his face.

"Wait guys! No! I..." Hinako tried to explain again.

"I thought you were honest." Honjo added.

Ren shook his head not sure what to believe anymore. And Yamato was worried of what they were going to do with Hinako. Suddenly Kamiya walked over to Hinako and lifted her up. "Losers! That's you said that! You see us as losers!" He yelled out at her.

"Wait no! That's not what I meant! Indeed, I thought you as losers but that was..." Hinako was trying to explain herself the best she could, but she couldn't when she felt everyone in the whole class was glaring at her. Suddenly Kamiya grabbed her and pinned her against the wall, making Yamato stand up as well as Ren and Izumi.

"Hinako!" Izumi yelled out.

As Kamiya rose his fist to punch her, and only hit the wall next to her, because he just remembered that he was dealing with a girl, not a boy. "Get out!" Kamiya yelled as he felt the pain through his knuckles. "And never show your face in here ever again!"

With that said, Hinako didn't say anything else. She didn't try anymore excuses. Everyone in 3-D was now against her. She passed-by Yamato, grabbed her bag and rushed out of the classroom without looking back with tears in her eyes. She goes up to the roof of the school.

"The breeze was nice up here..." Hinako said to herself as she took a deep breath of the cool air through her nose and sighed closing her eyes. She could stay up here for the rest of her life and be contempt. Just her and this peaceful silence. Nothing else. No judging eyes. She couldn't, however, stay her. Soon she'd have to leave this school and all that she held dear to her here, very soon. Today would be the last day she'd see this beautiful sky.

Hinako had given it such deep thought and had finally decided, she didn't want this anymore, so she wanted to enjoy the sky one more time.

The wind whipped through her short dark brown hair as Hinako finally opened her eyes. She gazed up at the sky before looking down at ground below. Below she could see students from Momo High slowly filling the playing field and track all gazing up at her, pointing their fingers as well as whispering among themselves. Hinako was making a spectacle of herself... If she didn't hurry up, she'd embarrass herself even more.

Students gasped and yelled for the adults as they watched the senior grip the rail and throw one leg over it and then the other one, so she was standing on the outer side of the protective rail. Hinako slipped and screams of terror ripped through the air as she gripped the rail tightly and her right leg swung through the air. Her shoe slipped loose from her foot and dropped down below.

With a grunt Hinako quickly pulling herself back up on two feet again and held onto the rail behind her with both hands. Teachers were coming out now yelling for her to stop and go back over the rail, but she ignored them. Her eyes were blank as she stared down at them all. She had half a mind to tell them to look out but found no voice to say it.

Well it was now or never…

Hinako took a deep breath keeping her gaze up at the sky. She wanted to see the sky when this happen... The world turned and as she tipped, to gazed out at the field again. The image of the students faded until she gazed at an unfamiliar field, but their horrified screams still rung clear in her ears.

"Hinako!"

Suddenly she stopped with a hard jerk and was left dangling in the air at an odd angle. A large hand gripped her wrist tightly preventing her from dropping to her death. Hinako stared down at the empty field in mild shock before looking over her shoulder. The face of her brother Hiroki came into her vision. He swung his free hand around and latched it onto her forearm. Hinako simply stared at him blankly as the boy pulled her back to standing straight again.

"Hiroki..."

He was saving her a sad excuse for a miserable life. He must have seen her and run up those steps to stop her from throwing herself off the building, Hinako didn't deserve such was nothing but trouble. A burden, filth, trash, scum and everything else her classmates had called her. Speaking of classmates where did they go? Hinako cast a curious gaze to the field below where so many crowded a moment ago as Hiroki grunted wrapping an arm around her waist tightly.

"Hinako! What the hell do you think you're doing? You idiot!" Hiroki growled into her ear as he tried to pull the now limp girl back over the rail.

But this time, it didn't sound like Hiroki…

Hinako glanced back again and instead of seeing the face of Hiroki she saw the face of Yamato struggling to get her over on the safe ground, pulling her out of her memories and back to Akadou. It brought her back to her senses. She grunted clawing at Yamato's arm.

"Let go…" Hinako said, weakly as she tried to break from the boys grip but the more, she fought the tighter he hold onto her.

"What are you doing?!" Yamato yelled out while pulling against Hinako as she tried to lean back over the side of the building. He yanked hard and pulling her back, so she was sitting on the rail. The more he pulled, the harder she fought him. "Stop it!" She yelled.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Hinako screamed out flaring her arms around for a moment letting out a hard sob when Yamato didn't listen. "Stop it, leave me alone!" She cried out, trying to pry his hands off her but he wouldn't let go. Why wouldn't he let go? "I want to be alone!" Hinako moaned. "Just leave me alone! Please! Let me go!" But he ignore her with another hard jerk that pulled the girl over the rail and back onto the safety of the school's roof. He dragged her away from the edge a few feet before losing his footing and dropping to the floor with a grunt. Hinako stared at her shoes. She had so neatly set beside the rail for a moment before she started to fight again.

"Let me go!" Hinako moaned out jerking her left elbow behind her and connecting with Yamato's nose. He yelped in pain and released her to cradle his wound allowing Hinako the chance she need. She scrambled to her feet and took to a sprint back to the edge.

"Hinako!" Yamato yelled as his weight suddenly found its way to Hinako's back, pushing her to the ground with such force it knocked the wind out of her. She sucked the air back in and tried to push Yamato off of her, but he was too strong. "Hinako…" Yamato tried to say but Hinako simply yelled over him thrashing about as he rolled her onto her back and loomed over her face. "Takaishi Hinako…look at me."

"Let go!" Hinako screamed out kicking her legs furiously and swinging her arms before he held them down. She shook her head wildly. She couldn't take it all anymore; it was just one problem after another no matter what she did, no matter where she went, no matter who she met. "Just let me die!" She cried out weakly before her sobs took over her being and she shook under Yamato with them. The boy didn't listen to her wishes; he simply stared down at her in silent, sad understanding. After yelling three more times to be let go, to be left to solve her problem her own way, and have that request ignored, Hinako did the only thing she could do. She screamed and cried as loudly as she could no longer caring if anyone, but Yamato saw or heard her not being her usual tough self. She was a broken spirit and she was doing what she'd never done before not even when her brother died. Something that is needed from all people in life.

Hinako was crying like a little child left all alone. Even when her voice finally gave out on her, she thought she could make no more tears she kept on screaming, crying, releasing all the pain that was built up inside her for so long. She cried painfully for everything, including the negative emotions that she have kept for so long, fighting them at bay. Nothing was spared. Not even a scream or loud cry. Yamato could do nothing about that. He just watch with a painful expression as such a tough girl squirmed under his weight heaving in breaths, so she could scream more.

This went on long into the day and it dragged on until close to the last bell. It was a wonder that no one heard her or if they did come out to investigate. Finally, probably one class before the final bell, Hinako stopped screaming. With one last weak cry to the sky above, Hinako let her head drop back onto the floor and fell silent. Yamato sat up pulling her with him and pressed her head against his chest in an attempt to sooth the now quiet girl.

"It's okay…" Yamato muttered into her hair rubbing her back soothingly. "You're okay Hinako, you're okay now…"

But was she okay? Was she really okay? It didn't seem like it.

"Everyone in 3-D hates me now…" Hinako said in a hoarse voice gripping onto Yamato's shirt tightly in her fist. "It's over, it's all over…"

Silence enveloped 3-D's students as Yamato stepped back into the room. He was getting his bag and then he was going to take Hinako home, so she could get some well needed rest. Eyes shifted from him to the pale shaking girl that they were now really worried about.

"Hina-chan…I…" Kamiya spoke first, desperately wanted to apologize to Hinako so badly and starts stepping towards the girl only to stop when she stepped back pulling on Yamato's blazer, so it closed fully around her and avoided meeting anyone's eyes. "Leave her alone." Yamato ordered, picking up his bag and turning back to Hinako. Ren ignored this as he gets up from his seat and makes a beeline for the girl.

"Hinako…" He muttered out earning a tiny jerk of a look from her. Obviously, this was not Hinako. Ren was smart, why didn't he see this coming. If Yamato hadn't been storming about the field, if he hadn't happened to look up and made it to the roof in time, then Hinako would be…Hinako would have…Yamato snarled dropped his bag and stormed towards his friend. Ren's back slammed against the lockers a second later.

"I said to leave her alone!" Yamato growled to his friend while the rest of the class yelled out loudly as they jumped to their feet and moved to pull the two boys apart.

"You're not the only one worried about her Yamato!" Ren glared darkly.

"Is that so?" Yamato glared just as demonically. "If you're so worried, then why did I have to yank Hinako off from the side of the building seconds ago?" He questioned. "Because I had to stop her from throwing herself off the school's roof?"

"Stop her from doing what?!" Izumi yelled out quickly joined by an uproar from everyone else, but Yamato kept his eyes on Ren who's angered face quickly vanished and now replaced with one of horror and shock.

"You're supposed to be smart too!" Yamato growled. "So, why didn't any of you see this coming?"

"She's gone!"

The two leaders broke eye contact, heads snapping in the direction of the door where Hinako stood.

She was gone...

"Dammit!" Yamato cursed himself as he push off Ren and ran out of the room. He knew Hinako couldn't have gotten very far in such a short time, she still in the school building somewhere. Yamato called out her name as he was rushing down the halls leading away from the classroom. Farther down a hall to his left he saw a flash of dark brown hair whip around the corner and the sound of feet padding against the floor as the person ran. "Hinako!" He yelled out while running after her.

He chased the girl out of the building and through the front gates as it start raining. For a girl, Hinako could sure run as hell like demons were behind her. She ran down the street getting soaked in the process. Hinako could hear Yamato calling her name, but she didn't stop. She then covered the distance of the passageway everyone took to and from school like it was nothing, and lead Yamato on a chase that ran deeper and deeper into town before he finally caught her.

"Hinako!" He said, reaching out and grab her wrist. "Hinako, stop!" He ordered but she yanked her hand free and stumbled away from him.

"Leave me alone." Hinako hissed weakly. "I don't know why you think that you have the right to touch me, but you obviously don't!"

"Hinako, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Yamato yelled, furiously. "What was that you were doing back there? Why would you pull a stunt like that?"

"What does it matter to you?!" Hinako snapped. "I was doing everyone a favor! You dumbass! You should have let me jump!"

"Doing everyone a favor?" Yamato swore he understood the meaning of the saying 'seeing red' thanks to this girl. Hinako nodded.

"Yes…by taking my own life out of this world…saving everyone from a lot of grief. If it weren't for me, Yankumi wouldn't be called a bad teacher. If it weren't for me, you and the others would not fight or hurt each other. And most of all, if it weren't for me, then my brother would be alive, not dead. Everyone would be better off! No one would miss me!" Yamato couldn't take it, he swung hard and a sound that was similar to glass breaking rung out so loudly passerby faltered just to look. Hinako's head was thrown to the side from the powerful slap and it had quieted her down.

"Don't be so stupid!" Yamato snarled. "No one would miss you? It won't bring your brother back! And what about the others?! What about Ren, Honjo, Ichi, Kura, Kamiya, and Izumi?! Even Yamaguchi! They would definitely care! Don't be so stupid to think that no one cares about you!" Hinako rounded on Yamato with a hand to her now red cheek. She fixed him with hard glare.

"Who?" She challenged. "Who cares? Huh? Who cares about me?"

"I do!" Yamato shouted over Hinako, pretty sure if there wasn't so many people around, he would have stopped at simply smacking Hinako. This thick head, she needed more than a good slap for scaring Yamato like she had. A silence dropped between the two as Hinako's glare softened and her mouth hung open slightly in disbelief keeping her eyes locked with his eyes. For once, she was at a loss for words.

"Look out!" A woman shrieked quickly followed by the loud honking of a bus hire. Yamato went wide eyed; Hinako was standing there right in the middle of the street!

"Hinako!" Yamato yelled out as the girl turned her head and looked at the bus. She stood still either not registering what was about to happen or too surprised to move. Yamato drove in front of her shoving her out of the way as the buses horn blared in his ears. He shut his eyes ready for great painful blow as he heard Hinako's terrified voice.

"Yamato!"

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **If you get highly offended or made uncomfortable because of thoughts and attempts at suicide, then I advise you to skip this chapter.** **I know suicide can be a touchy subject so me putting this up was pretty debatable. However, I do feel it had to be done. Readers remember this please, that there's always someone to talk to about anything. Anyway, hope you'll keep enjoying the story and keep reading... it only get worse from here (I feel so mean putting Hinako-chan through all this...) I mean Thinks only get worse before they get any better right? Until next time guys...hmm... should I change the rating of this story because of this?**

 **Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for. In the next part, we finally get to see Hinako's untold past and the death of her brother Hiroki.**


	17. Episode 12 Part 2 (Hinako's Episode)

Episode 12 – Part 2: The Older Brother's Wish, the Younger Sister's Wish

"Look out!" A woman shrieked quickly followed by the loud honking of a bus horn. Yamato went wide-eyed, looking down the road and then at Hinako with a surprising amount of terror.

"Hinako!" He yelled as Hinako turned her head and looked only to be greeted by the grill of a bus.

It was irony, really. Hinako could have thought up a list of things she thought would take her life but to go out at the hands…or wheels of a bus, that was something Hinako never saw coming.

It happen so fast, one minute she was staring at the bus and then the next she was having one of those 'life flashing before your eyes' moments you only really see in action movies or soap operas. It was like someone flashed light in her face and she thought she died for a minute before the haunting image of her brother came to her.

"Hiroki…"

Suddenly the blare of the horn as well as the sickening crunch of bone as body met with the metal. The blaring horn sent Hinako buzzing back to earth. What felt like a few minutes it actually turned out to be less than a second, Hinako was back in front of her doom.

Yamato suddenly dove in front of her shoving her out of the way as the bus came closer. He shut his eyes while Hinako's grew even wide with horror.

"Yamato!" She reached out for him.

Yankumi's heart was in her throat when she stepped into the hospital. When Natsume-sensei called her, saying that there had been an accident, and that Takaishi and Ogata had been involved in it, she sprinted to the hospital. All of 3-D filled the hallway.

"Sakurai!" Yankumi addressed the girl as soon as she saw her and approached her quickly. "Any news?" Izumi shook her head. "No one's allowed in yet." She informed her teacher. "I think one of them is hurt badly…and…"

"Don't say that!" Kamiya yelled in anger, glaring at his friend but over the anger anyone could see his great concern for his classmates. "They're going to be fine!" The rest of class 3-D muttered their agreement with this statement.

The wait was agonizingly slow and as the minutes ticked on Yankumi watched the boys slowly progressed from worried to utterly frustrated. Then, a doctor emerged from the doors the group was not allowed to cross. He set his eyes on Yankumi first.

"Are you their teacher?" He asked, now everyone looked up stopping whatever they had been doing to stare at the man. Yankumi stood up quickly stepping towards the doctor with worry etched into her every move.

"Are they alright? It's nothing serious right?" She asked, hoping that he would nod and direct a warning to her to tell her students to be more careful but the grim look on his face said otherwise.

"One of them, has a few scrapes and bruises, but he's completely fine...but…as for the other student…she's…" The man trailed off.

"She's…she's what?" Izumi urged the doctor.

"We were able to stop her bleeding but…she's…"

Yankumi didn't wait to hear the rest, she charged past the doctor and through the once ominous doors the rest of class 3-D right on her heels. Ignoring the doctors calls for her to stop she breezed through the hallway checking every room as she did. After three rooms she finally found what she was looking for. She stared with her breath held tight frozen in place in the doorway praying that the person within would move.

If you asked Hinako when and how she passed out, you probably wouldn't get an answer.

Hinako woken to that very head scratching question. The last thing she remembered she had been screaming out and reaching for Yamato…Hinako's eyes grew wide.

"Yamato!" Hinako sat up quickly looking around at herself. Where was she?

The room was a sickening blank color that couldn't exactly be called white or even cream colored. There was no defining smell in the air either. Everything was just so…clean…

"Oh, great." Hinako muttered to herself. "I'm in a hospital." Hinako moaned rubbing her head, that she now noticed was absolutely aching, and threw her legs over the side of the bed letting her bare feet brush over the cold tile floor. She checked herself over as she stood up; she still had her clothes on so that had to be a good sign. Usually if it's something serious they make you change into that annoying hospital gown, so she must have gotten out of the accident just fine but what about Yamato...? What happened to him? Hinako shook the negative thoughts away and journeyed out of her room and down the hall. She had to find Yamato, this was all her fault and if he got seriously hurt or injured because of her stubbornness she'd never be able to forgive herself.

No one gave Hinako so much as a glance as she aimlessly wandered through the hallways dipping her head into rooms as she went. Hinako wasn't bothering by anyone, she didn't expect the nurses that she passed by her, not even a single word. Not that she even wanted them to, they were rude! One even shivered and stepped away from Hinako rubbing her arms and giving her a reproachful look as the teen passed saying something to her coworker about getting the chills as Hinako simply rolled her eyes and walked on.

The room Yamato lay in had two beds in it, though one of them didn't seem to be occupied the other was taken up by the student. Hinako held her breath as she stepped inside carefully and eased herself onto her knees beside his bed. She reached out and took his hand eyeing him in slight panic. He didn't have any visible injuries so that made him, okay right? But he wasn't moving... He wasn't hooked up to any machines either, did that mean he was... A knot formed in Hinako's throat as she felt for a pulse.

She didn't find one…

"Yamato?" Hinako choked out. "Oi, Yamato!" She gave him a slight nudge. "Wake up! You can wake up!" But despite her words, the boy didn't move. Was he even breathing at all? Tears brimmed and rolled down Hinako's cheeks quite easily as she shook him harder "Oi! Yamato!" She sobbed out weakly. "Oi wake up…Don't die on me you hear? You said that you care about me, don't you? If you care about me then get up…"

 _ **"Who cares? Huh? Who cares about me?"**_

 _ **"Me!"**_

"Gomen nasai…" Hinako whimpered out " Gomen nasai, Gomen nasai, Gomen nasai…Go-Gomen nasai…" The tears wouldn't stop now as all Hinako could do was apologize over and over heaving in a breath just to keep going. "Go-go-gome-gomen nasai…" She sobbed out "Gomen nasai, gomen nasai!" The sound of stomping in the hallway reached her ears and then she looked up at the doorway. "Yankumi…" Hinako whimpered out gripping onto Yamato's hand tightly, as the teacher stared into the room with wide eyes. "He's not breathing!" But the teacher didn't respond to her words.

"Ogata…" Yankumi breathed out a slight sigh of relief. Hinako fumed, why was she relieved? Yamato wasn't breathing! Was that something to be relaxed about?

"Didn't you heard what I just said?! He's not breathing!" Hinako screech out. "He's not breath-" Suddenly a twitch came from under her hands stopping her words and making her look down. Yamato's hand curled into a fist under Hinako's and he moved his head a bit.

"It's cold in here…" The first words that come out of his lips while is eyes stayed closed. Everyone in earshot breathed a sigh of relief. From the looks of the crowd behind Yankumi it looked like all of 3D was here... But why did he look so pained?

"Hinako...I don't know where she is." Yamato spoke opening his eyes and sitting up. "They won't let me see her either. Is she alright?"

"Oh yes, very funny." Hinako snarled pulling her hands back and glaring at Yamato. "It's nice to see you can still joke when people are busy thinking you're dead!" But the boy still didn't even look at her. Was he giving her the silent treatment? Well, she probably deserved it a bit after she scared him like she did. "Oi!" She hissed. "I know you're mad but at least look at me!" Still, he did not answer her. He simply shivered slightly and rubbed his hands to warm himself up. It was now that Hinako had noticed how cold the room had become, it was almost deathly freezing in the room! Suddenly a pair of nurses rushed past the crowd in a hurry.

"What happened?" One of the nurses panted to her company.

"The student who came in this afternoon from the bus accident, she's lapsing!" The other nurse responded. "We need to hurry!"

Student from a bus accident?

Hinako stood up fully watching the wide-eyed looks of everyone around her.

"Hinako!" Izumi uttered again before following after the nurses. What the hell was going on here? She was right here! Hinako hurried out of the room after Izumi along with the others quickly hurried behind her as they chased down the nurses all the way back to Hinako's room. She peered into the room watching some of the hospital staff working feverishly on someone inside that room. The quickening beeping of a failing heart rung in her ears and she watched with eyes of terror as the doctor began pumping the person's chest.

"She's not responding!" A nurse said stepping back to look at the pair that had joined them. "What are those people doing out there? Close the door!" Hinako felt a cold rush overcome her when she saw the patient they were about to lose, and she saw that the patient was…herself.

Hinako was dressed in a little hospital gown and her dark brown messy hair spread out around her. An oxygen mask was strapped to her face and a bandage was wrapped around her head. Her hands immediately went to her own head where it was still aching terribly in the back. She felt no bandage but when she pulled her hand back, she saw red smearing her fingers.

That was when it all started to come back with stunning vividness…

 _~Flashback~_

 _Yamato suddenly dove in front of her shoving her out of the way as the bus came closer. He shut his eyes while Hinako's grew wide with horror._

 _"Yamato!" Hinako reached out for him, her fingertips felt the fabric of his sleeve and she without so much as a second thought gripped it tightly yanking Yamato with her as she fell._

 _The bus horn blared loudly and soon was joined by the screeching of tires Hinako felt Yamato's arms go around her waist as they fell. They hit the ground and a great pain shot through the back of Hinako's head. The bus, trying to swerve and avoid them, crashed into something on the sidewalk and fiber glass rained down on the pair. Yamato gripped Hinako tucking her under him to protect her from the glass as it fell and when it finished, he raised his head. The bus had crashed into the bench and glass guard that surrounded it... Just inches from running them over._

 _"Are you alright Hinako?" Yamato asked, looking down at her but she did not answer. The world was spinning before her eyes and darkness was creeping up on her. "Hinako?" Yamato repeated supporting the back of her head with his hand before frowning deeply when he felt liquid drip down his fingers. Hinako watched him pull his hand back to look at and his eyes grow wide when he saw blood and looked behind her and saw the bench with its sharp edge that was layered with blood as well. Yamato thought that Hinako must have banged her head against it when they fell... With the little strength she had left, Hinako looked up at Yamato and smiled weakly. That was the last thought to come to the girl's mind before her hand clutter to the ground and then her eyes rolled into her head and darkness embraced her._

 _Yamato gasped and hugged her body close to him, crying his eyes out._

" _HINAKO!" He screamed._

 _~Flashback End~_

"She's flat lining!"

The endless single note of the ominous flat line brought Hinako back to earth quickly. No way! She couldn't die! She refused to!

"Don't you give up on me!" Hinako growled as she stared down at her pale self on the hospital bed. She hurried through the doorway as a nurse moved to shut the door and block everyone in the hall from seeing what happen next. The doctor had the defibrillator in hand and had it properly place as Hinako stepped through the threshold.

"Clear!" The doctor said, while Hinako watched her body involuntarily jerk upward before everything went white and she collapsed.

Hinako groaned as her vision cleared up a bit and found herself floating in an unknown space, until she finds herself in what seemed to be like an afterlife version of Akadou Academy. Once there, she wanders around looking for everyone, but she ends up seeing different and unfamiliar people.

Meanwhile in the hospital's lobby, there was no relaxation to be found when that nurse had closed the door. The relief anyone had felt from seeing that Yamato had come out of this mess alive had been over shadowed with the dread that they would lose Hinako. None felt this dread more than Ren, Izumi, and the four other boys. The beep of their classmate's flat lined heart was still clear in their ears through the door and the more it rung the thicker the dread that it would not stop.

" _ **Don't drop me."**_

However, they couldn't help but think about Hinako. As for Yamato, he stood across the hall to the door where Hinako is and peeled in to see what's going on. He saw a nurse pushed down on Hinako's chest while another squeeze a handle that was most likely pushing air into Hinako's lungs. They had abandoned the breathing mask and had now placed a tube down her throat.

"Clear!" The doctor called out and the nurses moved back. Hinako jerked due to the electric jump and the horrible beeping stopped for a second but quickly returned.

"Hey, Izumi. Can I ask you something?" Yamato said as he walked up to her. "It's about Hinako and her past."

"What is it?" Izumi asked, curiously.

"Do you anything about Hinako's brother Hiroki?"

Izumi's eyes widened when she heard that question. "You know about him?" She asked.

"Yeah, Hinako told me about him. And I saw her visiting his grave the other day."

"I see."

"Who's Hiroki?" Ren asked, looking puzzled as so did Honjo, Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya.

"He is…Hinako's big brother." Izumi replied.

"Brother?!" The five boys said in shock.

"I didn't Hina-chan even had a brother." Honjo said, looking surprised.

"Me neither." Ichi and Kura added.

"How come we never met him?" Kamiya asked.

"Well…that's because…he's been dead for three years now."

All the boys looked at her in shock, expect for Yamato who already knew that.

"What happened to him?" Honjo asked.

"I think it's time they know, Izumi." Yamato said.

"You're probably right." Izumi replied, as she begins to explain Hinako's past. "Hinako's parents were both killed in a horrible car accident. At that time, Hinako was only twelve years old and Hiroki was only fifteen. For the last three years, they lived together. Hiroki was a student at Akadou. Hinako told me during his first year there, he took over the whole school within one month. Hinako was taught to fight and defend herself by her brother."

"Wow! That's cool!" Kura said, excitedly. The other boys nodded in agreement with him.

"Anyway, this is a story before Hinako and I first met…" Izumi droves right into Hinako's story.

 _~Hinako's Past Flashback~_

 _Hinako was being chased by a group of boys from Ara High. When she stopped running, Hinako found herself surrounded in a circle. When one of the boys was about to hit her with a metal pipe, someone kicked him away. She turned to see her brother Hiroki._

" _Hiroki!" Hinako shouted._

" _What are you doing fighting these little fish?" Hiroki asked._

" _Shut up." Hinako replied. "I thought you gave up fighting."_

 _Next thing they knew, Hinako and Hiroki found each other back-to-back._

" _Watch my back." Hiroki said._

" _You too." Hinako replied._

 _With that said, the Takaishi siblings fought back. After the fight, Hinako apologizes to her brother._

 _"Gomen nasai… It was all my fault…" Hinako flinched as Hiroki dropped his hand onto her head and ruffled her hair as he laughed. "It's fine, sis." Hiroki replied. "That was the last fight."_

" _But… Because of me…"_

" _Stop being so hesitant!" He shouted. "I hate it when you're weak-minded."_

" _Understood." Hinako said, smiling. "By the way, why did you quit fighting?"_

" _I'm glad you ask." Hiroki smiled. "I'm thinking of becoming a teacher."_

" _A teacher?" Hinako looked surprised by her brother's answer. She didn't know what to say._

" _Yeah! A high school teacher!" Hiroki said, by smiling. "It's really hard, but if I'm serious about it maybe I can make it."_

" _I see. So, that's why you're giving up fighting." Hinako said, looking a bit disappointed._

" _You too, give up fighting and become serious." Hiroki stated, with a serious look. "Let's study together."_

" _You're serious?" Hinako chuckled, but stopped when she noticed her brother wasn't laughing._

" _There's nothing but 'seriousness' in this world." Hiroki said, in a serious tone._

" _Well…I won't say no to that…"_

" _Okay. It's decided." Hiroki said with a smile._

 _The Takaishi siblings kept on walking together until they were in the park near the Shirokin Shrine. There, they went over to a small bench and sat. As they sat together, Hiroki pulled out two bracelets out from his pocket of his blazer. One bracelet was pink, and the other was blue._

" _What are those?" Hinako asked, curiously looking at them._

" _A symbol of our promise. Here." Hiroki handed Hinako the pink bracelet, and then he kept the blue bracelet to himself._

" _This is for me?" Hinako said, smiling. "You made this yourself?"_

" _Yeah, I did. Why?"_

" _You?" Hinako starts to laugh._

" _What's so funny?" Hiroki asked._

" _You did something girly." Hinako said, as she continues to laugh._

" _Yeah, so what?!" Hiroki looking embarrassed. "So, starting tomorrow you and me will start studying together. Don't forget our promise." Hiroki smiled as he winked and pointed to the blue bracelet now on his right wrist._

" _Will do." Hinako winked back at him._

With that said, Hinako put the pink bracelet on her right wrist and she smiled at her brother who smiled back at her.

 _~Hinako's Past Flashback End~_

"Hiroki wanted to quit fighting and study to become a high school teacher." Izumi said.

"I see." Ren said. "So, what happened after that?"

"So, what happened to Hiroki?" Ichi asked.

"Right after they made their promise, Hinako and Hiroki were walking home one night after they gone out to eat somewhere and see a movie when suddenly another rival gang of Hiroki's from Ara High jumped them." Izumi stated. "They wanted to challenge Hiroki to a fight. But Hiroki refused. Because he refused, Hinako was cornered by three goons, she beat up two of the three before getting beaten up herself. Luckily for her, Hiroki took them down before it could get worse, but then…"

 _~Hinako's Past Flashback~_

 _It was six Ara boys versus Hiroki. One of the Ara boys beat Hiroki with a metal rod, including giving him a serious head wound. Then, the Ara boy placed his hand on Hiroki's chest and gave him a hard shove just as a big truck was coming from down the street. Hinako witness everything from a safe place, she even witness Hiroki's death as he is struck by the truck._

" _Hiroki!" Hinako yelled out. "Hiroki, no! Hiroki!"_

 _After the Ara boys left, Hinako run out to the street to her brother, who was lying motionless on the cold concrete in his own pool of blood. Blood splattered all over the place. Hinako took in a shaky breath as she watched and waited for any sign of movement from her brother. But there was none. Hinako sank to her knees_ _when she sees her blood-streaked hands, believing that Hiroki's injuries were her fault. This realization made the world around her spin wildly with the panicking of unseen people surrounding the area._

 _At the hospital, medics tried to take Hinako, but she fought to stay at her brother's side. She broke one medics' arm and later a medics' got his nose broken as well. When she got the chance, she run down a hallway and found her brother through a window of a room. Hinako witnessed doctors checking Hiroki's vitals to no avail. The sound of rapid beeping ringing through the air and then the beeping became a sudden flat ring._

" _This isn't real…" Hinako starts to cry. "This isn't real Hiroki." Hinako noticed her brother's blue bracelet was now covered in blood. "It's because of me…Because of me, you're now…" Hinako starts crying and crying and then sobbing. "HIROKI!"_

 _~Hinako's Past Flashback End~_

"She said it was her fault Hiroki died." Izumi said. "She felt so responsible. Since then, she started studying to become a teacher, to fulfill the goals that Hiroki had set for himself."

"So, that's why she scared of blood." Yamato said.

"Now I know why she wanted to study so much." Ren added.

"That's horrible! Losing her brother like that!" Honjo reacted after hearing that story as the other boys nodded in agreement.

"So…when did you and Hinako first met?" Ichi asked, curiously.

"A year after Hiroki's death, Hinako and I entered Kuro Saigai as first years." Izumi replied. "I targeted Hinako, considering she was a rival I had to defeat. When the two of us fought, Hinako was the clear victor. After that, she considered me to be her best friend and we started our partnership as well as our friendship out of common respect for each other. And that's how Hinako and I first met…"

"Wow." Kamiya said as the other boys nodded.

Suddenly the door finally opened, and a nurse stepped out. All noise within had stopped completely and everyone's eyes were on the woman. She pulled off the surgical mask on her face and then frowned. A sullen looked came to her face and then she shook her head before walking away. Silence came to the room for a moment before Izumi let loose an ugly crying wail of unsound burying her face in her hands. "Hinako! NO!" Izumi screamed as she fully understand that Hinako didn't make it. She was gone. The 3-D students all took it in different ways, most stared at the doorway blankly, some openly began to tear up, a few yelled in anger and punched the nearest wall.

Yankumi was the first to the door. One of her students was dead! She didn't want to believe it, couldn't believe it. But there she saw was a ghostly white and lifeless body on the hospital bed. The remaining nurses busied themselves disconnecting the various machines while the doctor walked up to Hinako.

"She suffered a major blow to the back of the head…" He explained to her. "Earlier, we were able to stop the bleeding but then..." He turned and looked at the lifeless student. "Her brain started to send of radical signals, it made her heart begin to beat irregularly..."

"NO!" Yamato finally spoke. "She's not dead!"

"Yamato…" Izumi mumbled, while the five boys watched.

"She's not dead!"

"Ogata…" Yankumi turned to hold the boy back from entering the room. "Ogata, stop it."

"She isn't dead damn it!" He yelled out. The rest of class 3D had become riled up quickly.

This wasn't good.

Elsewhere in the alternate counterpart of Akadou Academy, Hinako ended up in Class 3-D and it was a complete mess. Desks were over turned, chairs broken into bits and scattered all across the room. Hinako stood there perplexed by the scene.

"What happened here?" Hinako said to herself.

She stepped into the room glancing from right to left, it didn't look like everyone was around. Hinako stopped when she stepped in front of what looked like a mirror. The image she saw wasn't her reflection, but it was an image of her older brother Hiroki, who surprised her from behind.

"Are you okay there, Hinako?"

Hinako whirled around and gasped to see Hiroki sitting on a chair, a few feet in front of her.

"Long time no see…" He said, by smiling at her.

"Hiroki…" Hinako tearfully embracing her big brother, then ran up to hugged him. "I've missed you aniki!" Hiroki patted her back with comfort. "Yes, little sis. I'm here for you." He pulled away to look at her in the face. "Mom and Dad said hi. They would've been here, but only one of us could come and talk to you."

"Talk to me?" Hinako sniffed.

"Yes." He nodded. "We don't like how you've been living with your life lately. You need to let go of the past and start moving towards your future. You have no time to waste here in such a place as this!"

"But…"

"It's a million years too soon for you…" Hiroki said. "Only the chosen ones come here."

"I can't just forget about you guys…"

"We're not even asking you to forget about us." Hiroki laughed. "What kind of big brother do you think I am? We just want you to move on from what happened. You're destroying yourself, Hinako, and I know you can see that yourself."

"Is that why I've been feeling sick lately?"

"No, that's because of a different matter. You'll know later." Hiroki said as he turned and starts to walk away and stopped in front of another mirror that wasn't there a few seconds ago. "Come take a look in the mirror, Hinako."

With that said, Hinako walked over and looked into the mirror. At first, it just showed her own reflection, but then it started showing the times she spent with her brother.

"Look how happy you were." Hiroki smiled. "You know I haven't seen her this happy until recently…"

"What do you mean?" Hinako asked as she tilted her head at him.

She looked back at the mirror to see herself with Yamato talking on the school's roof. The scene changed to when he walked her home for the first time. Hinako smiled and blushed a little bit at the scene in her apartment. Then, the last scene was the two of them kissing in front of the class after he was found innocent.

"You know…" Hiroki started to speak. "Seeing you like that, I have no doubt that you can let go of the past and start looking to the future. A future with that boy. But if you really love this Yamato, then you wouldn't make him cry."

"Make him cry?"

Hiroki pointed into the mirror. What Hinako saw broke her heart. Yamato was crying and trying to wake her up, but her body wasn't moving. She even saw Izumi, Ren, and the rest of the boys crying their eyes out at the door.

"Everyone…" Hinako started to cry.

"Listen to that voice, Hinako." Hiroki said.

"Voice?" Hinako looked puzzled.

"Wake up, Hinako!" A male voice shouted.

"That voice…it's Yamato's!" Hinako's eyes widened.

"We're supposed to graduate together! All of us!" Yamato shouted. "How are we supposed to do that with you're dead?! Get up now, Hinako!"

"That's right! Wake up, Hinako! You're not a quitter!" Ren shouted.

"Ren…"

"Don't give up Hina-chan!" Honjo shouted.

"Honjo…"

"Don't die, Hinako! Please don't die!" Ichi shouted.

"Ichi…"

"I promise I'll be a lot more nicer from now on, Hinako!" Kura shouted.

"Kura…"

"Wake up, Hina-chan! I know you can hear me!" Kamiya shouted.

"Kamiya…"

"Don't leave us like this! HINAKO!" Izumi shouted.

"Izumi…"

"Go to them." Hiroki said. "Go to your friends."

"What about you, aniki?" Hinako asked.

"I can't go over there." Hiroki replied. "So, I'll be taking the top from here."

"Will I ever see you again?" Hinako asked with a sad look.

"Everyone will come here in the end…Now, go!" Hiroki said. "Oh, and by the way, you were right about one thing. Yamato would have been a good rival for me. Dad would want to kill you both for that little night of passion. And Mom is so happy for you to see how much you two loved each other…So, you don't need to worry, Mom and I got your back." He winked at her.

Hinako laughed. Hiroki kissed her little forehead, before hitting her in the chest. A spray of sakura cherry petals float into the air which returned Hinako's consciousness to her body. After being sent back, Hinako's eyes snapped open. The hospital room came into view as a blurry image. It spun before her eyes making her close them just to keep from getting sick. The sound around her faded back to her as well. She could hear a lot of yelling from outside her room and the sound of Yankumi trying to calm the voices down.

"Hinako!" She distinctly heard Yamato's voice over all the place. "Dammit please wake up!"

"Patient: Takaishi Hinako. Age: seventeen. Clinical death: cardiac arrest." Hinako could hear the doctor speak and she opened her eyes a bit. They thought she was dead... She'd show them. Hinako looked over to the side of her bed. A nurse stood there watching one of her coworkers take down the information. Her hand twitched. "Time of death-"

"AAAAAHHH!" The doctor stopped and whirled around at the sudden scream of one of his nurses. "Doctor!" She shrieked looking down at her wrist that Hinako now has her fingers wrapped around. She gave the nurse's wrist a tight squeeze to show how alive she was. "She's alive! Doctor, she's alive!" Her words had made the noise outside change. All of a sudden, all that Hinako could hear was her name being yelled. She opened her eyes fully letting the blurry haze of the room come into full complete focus.

While resting in her hospital room, Hinako awoke to the sound of her phone. She groaned and answered it. It was Harumi, giving her a clear warning. "You got one hour. Come face me at our old school gym at once. The two of us have some unfinished business to attend to. If you don't show up, then I'll go after your friends instead. I won't warn you twice…"

Hinako didn't want Harumi to go after her friends, especially Izumi, because she won't hold back when it comes to protecting them no matter what. Despite knowing it was likely to be a trap, Hinako still accepted the challenge. So, she jumps out of her hospital bed and quickly got dressed, and then she writes a little note to tell her friends where she is at.

After Hinako sneaks out of the hospital and went to the promised location, the doors to the gym were opened, 10 or more Kuro Saigai girls were sitting around in the gym. Harumi was sitting in the middle of the gym, with her legs crossed and it looked like she's been waiting for her.

Hinako, on the other hand, looked really pissed walked over to Harumi.

"What is the meaning of these Harumi?!" Hinako yelled at her as she cracked her neck.

"Hinako…you're still cute as always." Harumi mocked her as she stood up from her chair and walked towards her. "I didn't think you would come. Seems that you care about your friends."

"Just tell me what you want, Harumi!" Hinako shouted as she kept glaring at Harumi, ready to attack her.

"Well, our old class here can just go and attack those 6 boys. Even Izumi." Harumi explained.

"Don't include them in our issues! This problem is between you and me. Now tell me what you want right now?!" Hinako spoke out loud and clearly, placing her hands against her hips.

"Wow! Hina-chan is soooo scary. We never heard her speak so loud before, ne?" Harumi picked on her as the rest of the girls nodded their heads. "All right, let's get ready to fight!"

With that said, Hinako and Harumi get ready to fight...

"Gaaa!" Hinako charges towards Harumi.

Meanwhile, Izumi went to visit Hinako at the Hospital.

"Hey Hinako, I brought you some good from the cafeteria!" Izumi smiled at she opened the door. "Hinako?" Izumi entered the room. But noticed that Hinako was missing. She spotted the note on her hospital bed and read it. Izumi gasped. "Oh no…" Izumi drops the food tray and then runs out of the room.

As Izumi runs towards Kuro Saigai, she called Yamato and explained that Hinako has gone to fight Harumi, who is waiting for her at the gym of Kuro Saigai. With that said, Yamato, Ren, and the 4 other boys freaked out and took off running towards Kuro Saigai to rescue Hinako. When they got there and meet up with Izumi, the 7 teens entered the gym where they saw Hinako and Harumi fighting each other. Hinako is fighting Harumi with all her strength but was brutally beaten up.

As for Harumi, she chases after Hinako and is coming towards her fast. Amazingly, the two girls still have energy to go on, and Hinako throws some very fast punches, but Harumi was clearly gaining the upper hand, by blocking and withstanding Hinako's blows. Seeing Hinako bewildered, Harumi taunted the girl to make her snap back to their battle but was still in control of the fight. Even so, Hinako manages to land some punches, but Harumi only retaliates in brutal punishment.

Hinako gets brutally beaten from Harumi's massive hits and kicks, yet she still refuses to give up. The team of 7 noticed that Hinako's face now looked bloody.

At this point in the fight, the tables are harshly turned against Hinako. Harumi continues to pound on Hinako. Somehow, Hinako musters enough strength to fight back a little. Seeing Hinako struggling, Harumi kept taunting her, but was annoyed when Hinako miraculously gets back on her feet, and lunges at her. But without warning, Harumi curled up her hand into a fist and she rammed it with full force and intent into Hinako's gut, knocking the wind clean out of her.

Hinako coughed while sinking to her knees from the blow and breathing really hard.

Yamato watches the fight in disgust and horror. Now, the group of 7, especially Yamato can barely stand to watch. An unsettling feeling began twisting inside them as they kept watching the fight.

"Those 6 boys never believed in you once, Hinako." Harumi spoke as Hinako slowly gained her breath back. "But they believed in me. They're nothing but a bunch of losers…" The 7 teens took a step forward worrying about Hinako. Until Hinako gazed up at Harumi.

"They're not losers!" Hinako winced a bit before looking up at Harumi. "I'll have you know that those 6 boys are better people than you ever be! That includes me and Izumi!" Hinako spoke up loudly making the 6 boys gazing at her, while Izumi smiled at her best friend's comment.

"Are you serious?" Harumi asked, as bare knuckles connected with Hinako's jaws and yelled out as her head was thrown to the side from the blow.

Suddenly, Hinako started chuckling to herself simply as she began to get back on her feet, while at the same time, spitting blood out from her mouth before looking back at Harumi. As for Harumi, she looked and taken a step back by her laughter. But as Hinako's laughter becomes louder, Harumi became enraged. "What are you laughing about?!" She growled swinging at her again and again and again until Hinako felt a dull throb in her skull. Harumi stopped briefly and grabbed a fist full of Hinako's hair, yanking it back so she looked at her in the eyes. "What's so funny?" Harumi asked her again.

"You are..." Hinako spoke weakly. "You're saying that I'm not serious? Well, I tell you one thing...I'm always serious! Because in this world, there's nothing but seriousness!" Harumi's eyes widened when she saw Hinako's serious look.

"Don't screw around with me! You're nothing but a worthless scumbag!" Suddenly Harumi grab a metal pipe and struck Hinako on the back of her head. It was right where she'd had her almost fatal wound and she could hold back a yell as pain thundered through her skull and she saw stars, and then the world come swirling in and out of focus until Hinako wasn't sure what was going on. She could only comprehend a few things like the sudden loud of footsteps from Yamato and the others who rushed to Hinako's aid. She recalled vaguely being lifted off the ground by Yamato, who gently placed Hinako against his lap. Then there was the fainted image of Yamato looming over her apparently looking at her in the eyes. Hinako quickly grabbed his hand as she slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing she heard before she blacked out completely was the loud yell of Yankumi's voice over the chaos.

Hinako groaned as she opened her eyes to see her friends joyfully and tearfully awaiting her awakening. Hinako looked around the room and saw that she was back at the hospital.

"Are you okay, Hinako?" Yamato first spoke.

"What happened…?" Hinako asked, once the pain settled in.

"After Harumi hit your fatal head wound with a metal pipe, you blacked out." Ren explained quietly.

"So, we brought you back here to the hospital." Izumi added and Ren nodded slightly.

"What about Harumi and her goons?"

"They were arrested and sent to a correctional facility." All heads turned to the door where Yankumi stood and smiled. "Everything's okay now."

Hinako couldn't help but sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…"

"You know..." Izumi starts to speak. "Before Harumi was put into the police car, I saw tears rolling down her face. I saw it."

"She really did have a heart…" Hinako smiled.

Hinako eventually gets an apology from Honjo, Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya, which made her smile. Yamato, Ren, and Izumi smiled while watching.

"I know I've said some bad things about you guys back then…I'm sorry too…" Hinako mumbled weakly but blissful. She got her friends back, and that made her happier than ever before.

After all that, Hinako got her head wound treated.

Later that very same night at Hinako's apartment, Yamato stayed with her while Izumi and the rest of the boys went home to rest. Yamato remained next to her at her bed as long as she was sleeping. He gives a lightly kiss on her forehead. After a while, Hinako woke up to find Yamato sleeping next to her. She smiled at him and then sat up letting her finger run through against his brown hair. To wake up and having Yamato next to her felt like a blessing. Yamato woke up as Hinako kept playing with his hair. He didn't say anything. He only lifted his body close to hers and kissed her.

About 3 weeks after all of that craziness, Hinako went back to the hospital because she wasn't feeling well, and Yamato came along with her to make sure she was okay. After a few minutes, Natsume-sensei came back and talk to Hinako privately in a little room after the results of her inspection came out.

"Congratulations, Miss Takaishi." He smiled. "You're officially 8 weeks pregnant. With twins."

"Eh?!" Hinako froze. Natsume-sensei explained that the reason why she was throwing up at her apartment is because it was the symptoms of morning sickness. He also explained to her that she is three months long, and the due date was in the beginning of March.

'I'm…pregnant? So that's what Hiroki meant. And that explains why I threw up at my apartment.' Hinako thought to herself. 'Oh no…I'm not even ready to be a mother, and Yamato…what will he say? How is he going to react?'

"Can you call Ogata Yamato in here please?" Hinako asked. "I really need to talk to him."

"Okay." He walked out of the room while Hinako looked down at her stomach and rub it.

'What should I say to him?' She thought. 'If I tell him that he's going to be a father, he'll probably hate me…' Suddenly the door opened, and Yamato walked in. Hinako screamed inside her mind to tell him the truth. 'Come on Hinako, say something.'

"The doctor said you needed to speak with me?" Yamato first spoke.

"Yes." Hinako nodded.

"What is it?" Yamato asked as he sat down in the chair beside her hospital bed.

But before Hinako could even speak, she quickly grabbed the trash can right beside her bed and starts throwing up again. She felt Yamato holding her hair back for her and rubbing her back as some comfort. "Did they find out what was wrong with you?" He asked, handing her a handkerchief from his pocket.

"Yes, they did…" Hinako nodded again. "But I don't know how to explain this to you."

"What are you trying to say, Hinako?"

Without warning, Hinako took Yamato's hand and placed it on her stomach. He looked at her with a very confused look. Then, he look at his hand and his eyes widened. "Are you…?"

"Yes, I'm pregnant with twins." Hinako nodded. "We're going to have two babies together."

At that moment, Yamato didn't say anything. Not a single word.

"Yamato, please say something!"

Then, Yamato stood up and smiled at her. "I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!" He yelled out with joy.

Hinako laughed as Natsume-sensei ran into the room.

"Is everything okay?" He asked the 2 teens.

"Yes, everything is just fine." Hinako replied.

"Everything is just wonderful." Yamato added.

The very next day, Yamato and Hinako hadn't told anyone in Class 3-D yet about her being pregnant with twins, not even their friends. The two of them waited until Yankumi finished taking attendances. And then, Hinako raised her hand.

"Oi, Yankumi!" Everyone in class turned to her. "Yamato and I have a big announcement to make for the whole class."

"Okay." Yankumi smiled. "Come on up you two."

With that said, Hinako took Yamato's hand and walked to the front of the class.

"Before we announce anything, Izumi has to promise me that she won't freak out or kill anyone in here in class." Hinako said.

"Okay…" Izumi looked at her suspiciously.

"Great!" Hinako smiled. "Now let's see...um...how should we say this?" She whispered to Yamato.

"Oh, I know! One second…" Yamato walked up to Yankumi and whispered into her ear.

Yankumi's eyes widened and she froze.

"Really?" Hinako facepalmed. "You had to tell her first?"

"Just watch…" Yamato smiled. "In five, four, three, two, one…"

Suddenly Yankumi started jumping up and down. Then, she ran up to Yamato and Hinako and she hugged them, tightly. She turned to the rest of the class who were now very confused.

"You guys, how does it feel to be uncles, especially you five back there." Yankumi pointed toward their group in the very back. "And Sakurai-san, you will become an aunt…"

"Eh?!"

"I'm going to have two more grandkids." Yankumi said as she started to daydream.

"Grandkids?!"

Being the smartest of the group, Ichi jumped up first and answered for the class.

"Hinako…are you…pregnant…with twins?" He asked.

"What?! No way!" Izumi shook her head.

"Izumi." She looked up at Hinako. "Yes…I am pregnant…" Hinako nodded, while smiling.

"Huh?!" Izumi jumped back. With that said, the whole class jumped up and start cheering for both Yamato and Hinako. The whole class swarmed them and asking questions.

"Hey, careful!" Yamato yelled over them. "Crowding is not good for the babies."

As the others went back to their seats, Izumi walked up to Yamato and she held out her hand.

"You take care of her…"

"Always." Yamato said as he took her hand.

Hinako smiled at the exchange handshake. Then, Izumi turned to her and smiled as well.

"I'm going to be an aunt! I'm gonna be an aunt!"

Later that night, Hinako and Yamato told Yamato's mother about the twins. And she was surprisingly happy. Because Hinako thought that she would be mad because they weren't married, and they were still in high school. She even started to hum while cooking dinner. As the two waited on dinner, they went to Yamato's room to study together. Yamato who finished his homework was now laying on his bed while Hinako was doing her homework at his desk.

"Hey, Hinako…" She looked up at Yamato. "Who was your first love?"

"Huh?" Hinako got up from his desk and leaned on the bed. "What kind of question is that?"

"Just wondering…" He shrugged.

She got in the bed and laid down beside him. "Well…I would have to say it was two years ago when I was a freshman at Kuro Saigai. I met this boy who also a freshman at Akadou."

"A freshman from Akadou?"

"Yes…" Hinako smiled. "One day I was attacked by a gang from Ara High until that freshman from Akadou came and rescued me. He told me to run away while he takes care of those thugs. I even lost my golden chain necklace."

"Do you ever get the chance to thank him?" Yamato asked, curiously.

"No, I never got the chance." Hinako replied. "I never saw him again after that. It's like he just disappeared."

"Now that's just weird." Yamato said as he sat straight up and got off his bed. He went over to his desk and opened one of his drawers and pulled out a necklace. "Does it look like this?"

Hinako sat straight up, and her eyes widened. "My necklace! I thought I lost it forever! You're that Akadou freshman who rescue me back then!"

"Small world, isn't it?" Yamato smirked.

"You knew it was me the whole time?!" Hinako's jaws dropped.

"Like I'm not going to recognize the girl who I've rescued from those punks and then see her again two years later." Yamato sat next to her in bed. "But yes, I knew it was you. I remember seeing you walking to school with Izumi during our first day of freshman year, and right then and there you've stole my heart like you do now every day."

"You're really something, Yamato." Hinako said as she hugged him.

"Yeah, well, you kinda bring that out in me." He hugged her back. Yamato pulled back and smiled at Hinako before leaning down and kissing her belly. "I can't wait to meet you both, and I promise you that I'll be a better father than mine ever was to me…"

Hinako ran her fingers through Yamato's hair as he kissed her belly once again. Then, he sat up and kissed her on the lips. "And I promise you Hinako that I'll be a better man towards you than my father ever was to my mother."

"You already are…" Hinako kissed him again.

Right then and there, Hinako finally let go of her past and starts to move forward into the future, and it was all thanks to her boyfriend Ogata Yamato…

 **Author's Notes**

 **Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait, but the latest chapter is finally up! I've worked really hard to get this chapter finished, so I hope you enjoy it. Also, there is very touchy subjects in this chapter as well. Now, reviews, reviews! Lovely reviews, please! Please keep reviewing! And please ask me questions as well!**

 **Yay! Hinako is pregnant! With twins! Isn't that great?!**

 **The next chapter will be the important one. The last episode for Gokusen Season 3!**

 **Thank you for reading/commenting/voting. XD ~Sydney-Chan7**


	18. Episode 13

Episode 13: Yankumi's last tearful cry... Cherish life!

It's almost time for the finals, and class 3-D is determined not to fail in order to have a great summer break. Apart from that, they also have to avoid expulsion by not getting into any more trouble no matter what…

In Class 3-D, Hinako groaned resting her head on her desk. Morning sickness was kicking her ass. Yamato lifted her head so he could sit on her desk. He gently placed her head in his lap. The others sat in the surrounding desks.

"What's wrong Hina-chan?" Honjo tilted his head at her.

"Oh, it's nothing Honjo. Just a normal morning of being pregnant with twins." Hinako replied as Yamato kissed the top of her head. "But hopefully, all of this the morning sickness will die down by the time July gets here."

"It's almost July…" Ren asked before smiling. "That means it's finally summer break!"

"Hey, wanna go on a trip?!" Honjo said getting excited.

"Good idea!" The others agreed.

"The last summer break of our high school life." Ichi smiled.

"That's right…" Kura gasped. "It is our last summer break."

"Alright!" Kamiya stood up. "Everyone, let's go somewhere!"

Everyone jumped up and cheered. Hinako could feel another headache coming on as they got louder.

"Summer means the beach, right?" Yamato giving them a hint.

"The beach means…" Ren's face lit up. "Okinawa!"

"We might hook up with some bikini-clad girls!" Honjo agreed.

"Bikini-clad girls!"

Izumi tells them to quiet down because of Hinako's headache, but they started daydreaming.

"How nice…" They sighed as the girls rolled their eyes at them.

"Don't include me and Hinako in your wild imaginations." Yamato said while running his fingers through Hinako's hair.

"Or me!" Izumi shouted.

Ren shook his head coming back to reality. "Alright! Let's go to Okinawa!" He cheered.

They started cheering making Hinako's headache grow, but thankfully, Izumi stopped them.

"Wait! Do you guys have any money for the trip?" Izumi asked.

All the guys' faces suddenly dropped.

"Well…" Kamiya stood up. "How about we work part time at a beach house and pick up girls at the same time?" He suggested.

"That sounds good, huh?" Kura smiled.

"I agree!" One of the boys said.

"I'm in!" Another boy added.

"Alright, it's decided then!" Honjo said.

"Everyone!" Ichi jumped up. "Let's make this summer hot!"

The whole class cheered.

"I'm determined to get some girlfriends!" Kura cheered.

The whole class cheered once again, but this time another voice joined them. Hinako and Izumi glanced behind Yamato to see Yankumi with her arms raised and a huge smile on her face.

"Like I always say, stop showing up like that." Yamato lectured.

"You're going too?" One of the guys asked.

"Don't you worry." Yankumi shook her head. "I'm going to Hawaii!"

"Hawaii?!"

"For real?!" Izumi said. "How cool…"

"Since I'm an adult, I deserve to go somewhere like Hawaii." Yankumi smiled.

"What's with the ruckus?!" The door slammed open.

Hinako groaned at the sound of Sawatari's voice as he entered the room along with Yajima. Hinako buried her face in Yamato's leg before raising her head so he could get off her desk. He kept his eyes on both Sawatari and Yajima as he backed up to stand beside her. Hinako slowly leaned her throbbing head on his hip as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"We can hear you all the way down the hallway." Yajima said.

"Sorry." Yankumi smiled. "We were discussing summer break and…"

"Summer break?" Sawatari asked cutting Yankumi off. "It seems like you guys are very worked up, but you haven't forgotten that before summer break there's final exams, have you?"

"How could we forget?" One of the boys spoke.

"But it doesn't matter if we did remember." Another one added.

"If you want your summer breaks, it would be best if you all did your best on finals." Sawatari said.

"Those with failing scores below 30 points on the finals will need to take supplementary classes during summer break." Yajima added.

"Supplementary classes?!"

"Everyday. Monday through Friday..." Sawatari smirked. "You can pretty much kiss your summer break good bye."

"Hey! We never heard about this!" One of the boys shouted.

"Why would you do something so pointless?" Izumi added as the boys started booing at the two male teachers. Sawatari ignored them and turned to Yankumi.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, please teach them well. It's homeroom teachers who will be teaching the summer classes." He explained.

"What?" Yankumi's face dropped completely.

Yajima laughed and then spoke. "In other words, if one of them has a failing score, you won't have a summer break either, Yamaguchi-sensei."

Suddenly Yankumi's jaws dropped. "What?! I didn't hear about such…" She paused and looked straight at Sawatari. "So, that's why you were smirking earlier?!"

With that said, Sawatari gave her a smug look. "Yamaguchi-sensei, it's unfortunate, but it's better you accept that you don't get a summer break."

Yajima nodded. "Well, it's impossible that no 3-D student will get a failing score."

"What was that?!" Honjo jumped up.

"How dare you say that?!" Kamiya shouted.

Sawatari laughed. "If that does happen, well...I'll walk through the neighborhood once on my hands. I can even do it with just a loincloth on."

"Bastard, are you for real?" Ichi growled.

"For real."

"So, you'll really walk on your hands with a loincloth on?" Kura asked.

"I will, I will, I will."

"Fine. Let's have you do that." Ren glared at Sawatari with a smirk. "Okay guys. Let's get scores above 30 in every subject!"

"Oh!"

"Are they serious?" Yamato whispered.

"Probably not…" Hinako replied.

"Great guys!" Yankumi cheered.

"I think your efforts will be wasted, but well, try the best you can." Sawatari smirked at Hinako and Izumi. "Mainly these two girls, and it looks like one of them is about to pass out."

"Hey, monkey!" Hinako groaned. "You better have a loincloth ready!"

With that said, Sawatari's smirk dropped. He turned and walked out with Yajima right behind him.

"Let's prove him wrong, boys!" Hinako said, while standing weakly.

"Oh!"

"Geez, it can't be helped. I guess I'll join." Yamato said as he wrap his arms around Hinako's waist, very gently. "But are you up for it? I don't want you to overwork yourself." He looked at Hinako with a worried look on his face.

"I'm always fired up to prove that monkey wrong!" Hinako growled.

Yamato snickered while resting his chin on Hinako's left shoulder.

"This is an interesting turn of events." Yankumi smiled at her class. "Alright! 3-D's Don't Fail Finals Operation! Fight-oh!"

"Oh!"

Right after school, the group of 8 went to the takoyaki stand because of two reasons. One: it has a table and chairs where they could sit and study, and two: Hinako was craving for a lot of takoyaki. After a few minutes, the boys started complaining. Expect for Yamato.

"Ah! I haven't read textbooks like this since elementary school!" Kura yelled, while slamming his textbook down.

"Man, I'm losing brain cells." Ichi scratched his head with a pencil.

"Well, if we have to study this hard, we'd want to go somewhere like Okinawa on summer break." Ren stated.

"But, we have no money." Izumi pointed out again.

Then, Kamiya stood up. "How about making some money at pachinko?"

"Oh! That's a good idea!" Honjo cheered. "Okay, let's go play pachinko."

The guys, except for Yamato and Izumi, stood up cheering.

"HEY!" Hinako yelled out, cutting off their cheers. "What are you saying?! Yankumi said that us, high schoolers are banned from gambling. I hate boys who like to gamble. Now you better sit your asses down before Izumi and I make you!"

With that said, the five boys slowly sat back down.

"How can Yamato deal with her mood swings?" Kamiya whispered to his friends.

"He doesn't do things to piss me off." Hinako growled which scared the five boys, then she quickly put on a huge smile and held her hands out to Yamato. "And he gives me grilled bean-jum beans."

Yamato sighed at Hinako's silly childish behavior before he handed me a box of bean-jum beans. They kept studying until Minaru-san and Tetsu-san had to close the stand. Then they decided to go to their usual spot. Hinako and Yamato were walking in front while Izumi and the other boys were laughing about random things. Yamato and Hinako turned a little to look at them and then started laughing at them when suddenly someone ran into them. Yamato quickly caught Hinako before she even hit the ground and glared at the person.

"Hey!"

"Ogata?"

They froze at the voice. Yamato immediately pulled Hinako behind him, while Ren quickly did the very same thing to Izumi.

"Goda."

Goda didn't say anything. He just turned and ran down the street. The others ran up behind them.

"Hey, that was Goda, right?" Ren asked.

"Yeah. I smell something fishy here." Yamato said before he turned to Hinako. "Are you alright? What about the twins? Are they alright?"

"We're fine." Hinako smiled. "He didn't bump into me that hard."

"But…"

"Aww…isn't that sweet you guys?" Honjo smiled. "Yamato is being the worrying boyfriend and soon-to-be father." He laughed as the others joined in.

"Oh, shut up!" Yamato barked in embarrassment and then he mumbled. "I was just making sure that they're fine. I worry about their safety both Hinako's and the twins."

Hinako giggled at him. "There's no need to worry, Yamato. I'm fine." She smiled. "And besides, I need to get home anyway. I'm getting really tired."

"I-I'll walk you home." Yamato said, quickly shaking off his embarrassment.

Hinako and Yamato said good-bye to the others and walked to Hinako's apartment. They said their good-byes to each other before she walked into her apartment and went straight to bed.

The next morning was great. First, Hinako woke up without any headaches. Then, when she got to school and straight to the classroom, she saw everyone in 3-D was already studying, meaning it was quiet in class for once.

Hinako sat down at her desk, got out her books and started studying. After a while, the boys started to complain, breaking the peaceful silence in the classroom.

"Ugh...This is impossible." Ren groaned banging his pencil on his desk. "There's no way."

"I'm at my limit, too." Honjo threw down his textbook.

"I quit! Quit! Quit!" Kamiya chanted closing his textbook.

Ichi turned to them. "Hey, don't give up so easily."

"Yeah." Izumi nodded. "Everyone's still trying."

"It doesn't look that way though…" Hinako commented.

"Huh?"

Izumi and Ichi look at the other boys in class. Most of them were asleep. One boy banged his head on his desk just to keep himself from falling asleep and staying awake. Then, they heard someone snoring behind them. They looked to see Kura sitting up straight in his desk, fall asleep.

"Hey..." Ren tiredly stood up. "You guys aren't studying?"

"Of course they aren't." Yamato slammed his book closed.

Right then and there, they decided to give up and call it quits. They're just not the studying type, no matter how hard they tired.

Right after school, they went to their usual spot and sulked. Hinako sat right beside Yamato with her back pressed up against his arm and her head leaning back onto his shoulder.

"No matter how I see it, it's impossible for us to all pass." Ren sighed.

"We aren't exactly the types to study, anyway." Yamato said, while resting his head on Hinako's.

"But I wanted to get that head teacher to do a hand stand." Honjo pouted.

"You know, giving up is sometimes crucial in life." Ichi said, trying to sound a little wise.

"Yeah, that's true." Kura paused. "But I feel a little bad for Yankumi."

"Yeah, she'll lose her summer break, too." Kamiya nodded in agreement with Kura.

"That'll be a bummer if she does." Izumi added.

"I'm fine with that."

The team of 8 looked over at Yankumi for a second before jumping back.

"I told you not to pop up like that!" Yamato yelled.

"Let's have class together during summer break." Yankumi stated, sadly.

They relaxed a little.

"What's wrong?" Hinako asked, while leaning over a little bit to look at Yankumi.

Yankumi glanced at Hinako before dramatically turning away. "Please don't ask me about it!"

Then, she kept saying 'my apologies,' over and over again. Hinako was about to ask her what was wrong again, but two detectives walked in. They were the very same detectives who always pointed the finger at Class 3-D when something wrong happened.

"We would like to ask a few questions." One of the detectives spoke. "Yesterday, there was a robbery in Shirokin town, do you know anything about it?"

With that said, Yankumi and the 8 teens stood up.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ren demanded.

"A witness reported that several young men fled from the scene." The other detective added.

"Huh? So, are you suspecting us?" Izumi growled.

It was silent for only a few seconds before Yamato spoke up.

"It's can't be…"

The others looked at him before realization hit them as well.

"Do you have some clue?" Yankumi asked.

"Well, last night near Shirokin town, we happened to see Goda." Yamato explained.

"Is it Goda Ryuuji, an Akadou graduate?" One of the detectives asked.

The 8 teens nodded. They thanked them and then left. They left soon after that.

Hinako woke up feeling completely drained. She couldn't sleep a wink. Because every time she closed her eyes, she saw images of their last encounter with Goda. The images were of Yamato being pinned down while Goda held a pile above him. Hinako rolled over and looked at the time.

Her eyes widened.

"Crap! I'm going to be late!" Hinako shouted as she quickly got dressed, eating a quick breakfast, brush her teeth, grabbed her bag and then ran straight to school. As she ran, she spotted both Yankumi and Izumi. Hinako ran up to them.

"Ohayou!"

They both turned to Hinako and smiled.

"Ohayou, Hinako." Izumi gives a little nod.

"Ohayou, Takaishi." Yankumi gives a little bow.

The three started walking to school together when Yankumi's cellphone went off.

"Moshi, moshi...?" Suddenly Yankumi's face changed from happy to shock, making both Hinako and Izumi stop. "Is this Goda…? What?! Don't talk nonsense!"

After Yankumi hung up her phone, she turn and started running in the opposite direction. The girls both called out to her, but she didn't stop. So, they ran right after her which was pretty difficult. They followed her toward a warehouse. She looked around then looked at both Hinako and Izumi with wide eyes.

"They can't be…"

"Who is they?" Izumi asked, while catching her breath.

Suddenly Yankumi ran off again.

"Wait! Yankumi!" Hinako shouted after her.

The two girls ran after her again. Yankumi leads them to school, which made even more confused. As they ran down the halls, the girls noticed that the school was a complete wreck. The girls ran toward their classroom to see it was worse than the rest of the school, and the 3-D boys were on the ground, brutally beaten. Yankumi went to the front office hearing the police sirens outside.

"What happened?!" Izumi shouted as she and Hinako ran toward their 6 boys.

Without warning, Yamato pulled Hinako into a tight hug.

"Thank goodness, that you're alright!" He said. "I thought Goda got you and Izumi too."

"Goda?! Goda did this to you guys?!" Hinako asked, pulling away.

"Damn goda!" Ren kicked over a broken desk.

"For him to ambush us is so cowardly." One of the boys commented.

"We're gonna find him and bag him!" Another boy stood up.

The boys started heading for the doors, but quickly Hinako and Izumi blocked them.

"Don't think about stupid things!" Izumi shouted.

"What's stupid about it?!" Honjo yelled.

"We didn't do anything to him." Ichi pointed out.

"We can't stay put after he did this to us!" Kura kicked one of their dart boards.

"What if you get back at him?" Yankumi asked, from behind the girls. Hinako and Izumi turned to her and they moved out of the way. "Wouldn't he get back at you again?" She asked again.

Then, Yamato stepped forward. "But he may come back again to pick a fight with us." He glanced at Hinako. "And cause more damage."

"Are you telling us to take a beating then?" Kamiya asked.

"Run away." She simply said.

"That's so uncool!" Honjo glared at her.

"I don't care if it's uncool!" She yelled out, which shocked the class. "He beat me, so I'll beat him back. That's even more childish and uncool. Don't fight a meaningless fight. It won't help. Understand?"

With that said, the boys nodded as they understood. They started cleaning up the classroom when Yankumi called the two girls out into the hall.

"Thank you, Sakurai, Takaishi, for stopping them."

"Like I was going to let my boyfriend and classmates get into trouble." Hinako said.

"We are not gonna let that happen." Izumi added.

"You two have really grown up." Yankumi smiled.

"Not really." Izumi shifted, blushing with embarrassment.

"Well, I see it and soon you two will see it as well as the others around you." Yankumi gave them one last smile before walking away.

After school, the 8 went to the river. They sat on the bank in the grass.

"A meaningless fight..." Honjo said, throwing a rock in the river.

"That may be right." Kamiya sighed.

They just sat there thinking about Yankumi's words, but the silence didn't last for long.

"We've been looking for you."

They turned to the voice to see Goda and his gang. They quickly stood up. Yamato and Ren stood shoulder to shoulder blocking Hinako and Izumi from Goda.

"What else do you want?" Yamato glared at Goda.

"You certainly did enough." Ren growled.

"You guys have guts, don't you?" Goda smirked. "You're showing promise. Why don't you join us? You six and your two Bakadou Princesses." Yamato reached back and put his hand protectively on Hinako waist as Goda continued. "I'll forgive you if you join us."

"What if we refuse?" Yamato asked.

"I'll bag you until I'm satisfied."

With Goda said that, Hinako's hands automatically went to her stomach.

Thinking about the twins…

Honjo was about to charge at Goda, but Yamato stopped him and stepped forward.

"We have no intention of fighting you."

"Or joining you." Hinako added stepping forward standing slightly behind Yamato.

"We want to graduate properly." Ren said, as he took a step forward.

Goda huffed when he heard that. "You're not taking that teacher's pretty words seriously, are you?"

"She doesn't just say pretty words." Ichi said, taking a step forward.

"There's no other teachers who'd put themselves on the line and face us head-on." Kura followed.

Honjo and Kamiya stepped forward showing their agreement to our statements as well.

"I see…" Goda's smirk widened. "Then, there's no choice."

"Hinako, you and Izumi run." Yamato whispered to her, keeping his eyes on Goda.

"I don't think so." Goda said. "Because we want to have a little fun with your two little princesses. Don't we, girls?"

With that said, Goda and two or three of his goons grabbed Hinako and Izumi and drags them both to an old factory, while the rest of his goons grabbed the 6 boys and starts beating the crap out of them. Goda dragged the two girls away from their boys and throws them to the ground. Hinako quickly curled up into a ball to protect her stomach from his constant kicks, while Izumi put her body over Hinako as a shield. Without warning, Goda grabbed Izumi's hair and drags her away from Hinako, separating her from her best friend. Izumi could hear Hinako screaming her name, she could also hear the boys screaming and trying to get away, but they couldn't.

For his enjoyment, Goda throws Izumi to the ground and steps on Izumi's head. He pushes down on it until Izumi is brought to tears. Hearing Izumi's cries of agony, Ren comes to her aid and grabbed Goda to pull him away from Izumi. Then Goda and his goons just started punching him. Izumi kept her eyes closed the whole time. Suddenly, she heard a huge crash and it got quiet. Everyone was frozen staring at the pile. Izumi looked around and then she saw Ren buried under a pile of pipes, unconscious.

"Ren!" Izumi's scream broke the others out of their frozen state.

Izumi ran over to the pile as Goda and his gang ran away. The others soon joined her to get the pipes off of Ren. They all worked fast as they remove the pile of pipes, while at the same time screaming his name, the whole time. He was unconscious when they got to him, and his head was bleeding. He was so bruised up, so Izumi gently put his head on her lap, trying to make it more comfortable for him. Izumi faintly remembers one of the boys calling an ambulance, but she doesn't remember clearly.

As they heard the ambulance and knew it was getting closer, Izumi quickly grabbed Ren's hand not wanting to let go. Afraid that if she did, they would take her away from him. Luckily, Ichi convinced the paramedics to let all of them to ride with him. Izumi was shaken from her thoughts by Hinako. "It will be alright…" She tells her. Most likely trying to keep all completely calm. Izumi has been holding onto Ren's hand tight the whole ride, and when they arrived at the hospital as she ran beside them with his hand in her hand for what felt like forever, when suddenly a hand stopped her.

"Let him go Sakurai-san, he will be fine. He's in capable hands." Natsume-sensei said, stopping her from going any further. And so slowly she let go of Ren's hand as he was wheeled off to the operation room. She felt so guilty, leaving him on his own again. At that moment, Izumi couldn't even move. All she could do was stand there in front of the operating room and wait.

'Was he going to be okay? Was he going to...?' Izumi's thoughts were broken when a hand landed on her shoulder. She slowly turned to see Kaoruko. She then pulled Izumi into a hug. Izumi wanted to cry, but no tears came out. She pulled away when she heard the door open. Kaoruko grabbed the first doctor that came out.

"How's Ren?"

"The surgery is done, but he's still unconscious." He explained. "He lost a lot of blood, and his condition is very unstable."

"By "unstable," you mean..." Sawatari paused.

Izumi didn't even notice that he was here. She looked around to see that Yankumi and the rest of 3-D were also here as well. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the doctor.

"Take it to mean that anything could happen." He stated before walking away.

At that moment, Izumi's heart just stop. Ren had to be okay. He can't just leave her. He just can't.

"Excuse me, coming through." A nurse called out, from the operating room.

They all moved as the nurses moved Ren out of the room. Kaoruko grabbed Izumi's hand and dragged her along as she followed Ren. They got to his hospital room. Kaoruko immediately went to Ren's side. Izumi sat down on the floor across from the hospital bed.

Yankumi suggested to Hinako that she should go and check to see if both the twins are okay. Hinako didn't argue with her as she dragged her to a different room, which Natsume-sensei was already in. Hinako sat on the bed as Yankumi left. He checked everything. He tells her that both the twins were okay and that she needed to be more careful. Hinako didn't respond. She just nod, then got up and walked back out of the room. Then, she looked up to see Izumi walking towards her with a worried look on her face.

"Hinako, is everything okay with the twins?" Izumi asked as Hinako nodded in response. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried something happened to them."

With that said, Hinako started walking to the waiting room to the boys, but she finds it empty. Hinako went to the front desk to see Yankumi, and she was on the phone. Once she hung up, Yankumi ran out of the hospital.

'Oh no, Yamato, what did you do?' Hinako thought to herself.

Hinako quickly followed her, but she kept a pretty good distance away so that way Yankumi wouldn't catch Hinako following her. She led her straight to a warehouse that was on the other side of town. Once she ran inside, Hinako quickly hid behind a wall as she watched Yankumi stood before Goda and his gang.

"You again?"

Hinako looked around to see all of Class 3-D on the ground badly beaten.

"Goda. Why do you hurt people like this?" Yankumi asked as she started walking towards Goda getting into her serious mode.

"I have a grudge against them!" He yelled out.

Some of his gang attacked Yankumi, but as always, she easily pushed them to the ground.

"Is your grudge something you can erase away with violence?" She asked.

"What?" Goda said. More of his gang attacked her, but they soon joined their pals on the ground.

"Doing this will only produce another grudge." Yankumi stated.

"Shut up!" Goda shouted. More attacked, but soon enough, the whole gang ran away leaving Goda to face Yankumi alone.

"Damn…" Goda said. "Damn it!" He picked up a pipe and hits a street light.

"Goda." Yankumi speaks again. "Are you going to live like this, destroying what you don't like."

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?!" He yelled out.

"By doing so, you're destroying your own life." Yankumi added.

"What life? That's been long destroyed!" He yelled out.

"No, it hasn't!" She yelled back. "No one can change the past. But you can change the future."

"Shut up! What future?" With that said, Goda picked up a pipe and began swinging it at Yankumi. She easily punched him to the ground and took the pipe from his hand. Out of rage, Yamato picked up a pipe and ran towards Goda.

"YAMATO!" Hinako screamed as she ran out of her hiding place and got in between both Yamato and Goda. Yamato immediately stopped when he saw her.

"Hinako?! Don't get in my way!"

"Don't joke around Yamato!" Hinako shouted. "Hitting him with that might kill him!"

"Aren't you mortified?" He asked, glaring at her. "Ren has been hurt like that. How can you remain calm? I can't forgive this guy. I'm gonna kill him!"

"Don't say that so easily!" Hinako shouted as she went up to him and slapped him hard. "How can I be calm? While thinking…what if something were to happen to Ren, I'm sad like crazy…mortified…and my blood is boiling inside."

"Then, why…?" Honjo asked, while trying to stand up.

With that said, tears started running down Hinako's face which surprised Yamato and the others. Even Goda. "I don't want anyone else to this way!" Hinako shouted. "Don't you guys get it what Yankumi's been teaching us? She's been telling us that no matter how many times we might fail or make mistakes, we can start over. But there's one thing you can't redo…" Hinako gently placed her hand on her stomach. "It's life. Just like these two lives that I have inside my womb. Right now, Ren is fighting hard. He's fighting hard to live. That's why I don't want you guys to do something that might take away someone's life. Ren's life…your life…and…" Hinako turned to Goda. "Goda, your life, too, have the same weight." She wrapped her arms around her stomach and shouted out. "There's no life you can spare in a silly fight like this!" Hinako turned back to Yamato, still have her arms wrapped around her stomach. "Yamato, what would you do if you did kill Goda?! You probably go to jail, and I'll be left alone again! I don't want to raise these babies by myself! We're going to have these twins together! I know I'm acting very selfish right now, but that's how I really feel!"

After letting all those emotions come out, Hinako fell to her knees and starts crying her eyes out. Yamato tossed the pipe aside and pulled her up into a hug.

"I'm so sorry Hinako…" Yamato said. "I'm sorry…" Hinako hugged me closer.

"You can change your future, right?"

Hinako pulled away from Yamato and she looked at Goda. She thought he was talking to Yankumi, but he wasn't, he was looking right at her. Hinako looked around to see everyone looking at her, waiting for her answer. Hinako looked back at Goda and smiled.

"Yeah, you can…"

After they left the warehouse, they went back to the hospital. Hinako stayed outside with Yamato and the others, while Yankumi went up to his room.

Hinako, Yamato, and the others looking up at the window of Ren's room.

"Ren, don't you die." Yamato said, trying not to cry.

"Keep fighting, Ren." Hinako said, holding onto Yamato's hand.

"We're going to the beach this summer, aren't we?" Honjo asked, getting choke up.

"After all, we promised." Ichi said, sadly.

"Summer will be here in no time." Kura said, already had tears in his eyes.

"If you don't wake up, we'll leave you behind." Kamiya added.

Inside Ren's room, Kaoruko was asleep. Izumi was still awake, and she was sitting in a chair right beside Ren and was holding onto his hand.

"I'll go keep an eye on the guys, you can stay here to keep Kazama and his sister company." Yankumi said, before leaving the room. Izumi nodded as she watched her leave then turned back to Ren and took a deep breath.

"Ren, please hang on. Sorry, I can't do anything else but say that. You've always protected me, and I wanted to protect you, but this time I couldn't. It's my fault you're in this hospital bed, it should have been me, not you. I'm a horrible person…" Izumi buried her face in the bed, crying her eyes out. "Sorry. I'm so sorry, Ren. I'm so sorry…"

"Don't…apologize."

Izumi looked up to see Ren opening his eyes. "Ren, you're alive!" Izumi's yell woke Kaoruko.

"Ren!" Kaoruko yelled out.

"Don't yell, you two." Ren groaned, taking off his oxygen mask.

"I'll go get the doctor." Kaoruko said, as she quickly runs out the door.

"I was dreaming…" Ren started to speak. "Everyone was at a graduation ceremony. I got my diploma, and I was really happy. Izumi…do you really think I'll be able to graduate?"

"Of course. After all, we promised each other, didn't we?" Izumi held out her pinky. "That we all graduate together. That's not a dream. And I won't let it end as one either."

Ren smiled looping his pinky with hers. "You know Izumi? You've really grown up."

"So, have you." Izumi replied.

"By the way, did I mention that you look cute when you're crying?"

"Baka…" Izumi blush with embarrassment.

The doctors came in and started checking on Ren. Izumi made her way down to the front of the hospital to Yankumi and the others. When they saw Izumi coming out, they ran up to her.

"Everyone." Izumi smiled really big. "Ren has come to. And they said he'll be alright."

With she said, everyone started cheering, but their celebration was cut short…

The next morning, the school yard was flooded with loads of reporters talking about how Goda turned himself in and about Class 3-D taking revenge on him.

Everyone in Class 3-D (expect for Izumi who stayed behind to keep Ren company) was nervous, Hinako sat right by Yamato, who was sitting in the far back separating himself from the others.

"Are we going to be punished?" Ichi asked as Honjo hit the blackboard.

"We didn't do anything!" Kura stated.

"But we did fight!" Kamiya pointed out.

"It's my fault…" Yamato whispered. "I was the one who wanted revenge."

With he said that, Hinako placed her hand on his shoulder. "Yamato…let's go."

"Where to?" He looked at her, curiously.

"Listen up, boys!" Hinako shouted as she stood up and walked to the front of the classroom getting their attention. "Right now, Yankumi is about to face a bunch of angry parents. We can't just sit here and let her face them alone. So…follow me." Hinako ran out of the classroom.

The 3-D boys followed without any hesitation. When they got to the gym, they could hear a lot of parents shouting for Yankumi to quit. They ran through the doors.

"Wait!"

Everyone in the gym stopped shouting. Class 3-D ran to the side of the gym so they could face the parents better.

"Please don't make Yamaguchi quit!" Hinako begged.

"No other teachers treat us right!" Honjo stated.

"Without her, we should've quit school a long time ago." Ichi explained.

"It's because of her that we're here now!" Kura added.

"It's not right that such a teacher has to quit!" Kamiya argued.

"She's responsible as your homeroom teacher!" One of the parents yelled out.

"I'll take responsibility!" Yamato yelled out. "It's my fault. I did it because I couldn't forgive Goda."

"It's not just his fault." Honjo stepped forward.

"We're equally guilty." Ichi taking a step forward.

"If he's punished, so should we?" Kura followed.

"Me too." Kamiya nodded. "I feel the same way."

The rest of the class stepped forward agreeing with the others.

"Don't just throw "take responsibility" around like that!" Yankumi yelled. "What could you do? It'll be a big mistake if you think withdrawing from school would fulfill your responsibility! Your parents are paying your tuition, you know! Listen guys, you are too young to take such a responsibility by yourself. But that's not a bad thing. You just have to keep learning things until you're a full-fledged adult. Without giving up half-way, without bursting with emotion, without hurting people, however painful it might get, grit your teeth, face forward, and go on living. You understand?"

They nodded sadly.

Yankumi turned her attention back to the parents. "Just like you've said, it's true that my lacking abilities have allowed this incident to occur. I am very sorry. I will accept any punishment, but please spare the students. They still have a great deal to learn. They can learn things from now on and change, albeit little by little. I ask you to please help them walk on the right path…"

She bowed her head. Soon the other teachers followed. Then, the chairman walked forward.

"In regards to Yamaguchi-sensei and the students involved, the board will take this matter under advisement."

So, they went back to their classroom and wait. They waited in silence for what seemed like hours until Honjo spoke up.

"Will we be expelled?" He asked.

"Probably…" Hinako replied.

"If that happens, sorry, Yankumi." Ichi said looking up at Yankumi.

"We're really sorry." Kura nodded, sadly.

Everyone started apologizing.

"What are you saying?" Yankumi stood up. "I won't let that happen! Don't say silly things."

Suddenly the door opened. The chairman walked in followed by Sawatari.

"I'll announce your punishment." She started to speak. "Although we can understand your anger over Kazama's injury, we can't overlook the fact that you turned so easily to seek revenge. All of 3-D will be...suspended for two weeks."

When she said that, all of Class 3-D including Yankumi looked in shock and were surprised.

"Repent and reflect upon your actions."

"Thank you so much!" Yankumi bowed.

All of class 3-D stood and bowed as well. "Thank you so much!"

Once she left, they lifted their heads and cheered, but Sawatari broke it.

"Listen! Be grateful for the chairman's leniency, and don't cause trouble ever again!"

With that said, he left. Yamato lifted Hinako off the ground and spun around. Hinako laughed before she pulls him into a kiss.

Right after school, the group of six and of course Yankumi visits Ren and Izumi at the hospital, only to arrive at an awkward moment when Ren and Izumi were making out and sharing a kiss. Both Ichi and Kura didn't know what to say, just had their jaws dropped. Even Honjo and Kamiya. As for Yamato, Hinako, and Yankumi, they smiled like they saw this coming…

Two weeks have passed ever since the incident. Thankfully, it went by very fast. Everyone in Class 3-D were sitting at their desks, waiting for Yankumi to walk through the door. Hinako and Izumi looked around at everyone. They were all so happy and who could blame them. The door suddenly opened, and both the girls took a deep breath.

"Ohayou!" Yankumi said as she walked through the door.

"Ohayou!"

"Sorry, I made you worry." Ren smiled.

"No problem." Yankumi smiled back.

"We're in your hands now." Yamato announced.

"Sure." Yankumi nodded as she walked behind her desk. "Listen. In your long life journey, there may be difficult and painful times, and you might stumble or fall down many times. But however often that might happen, you just have to get back on your feet. You have by your side your friends and me for support. Don't forget that."

"We know!" Hinako and Izumi both laughed. The rest of the class cheered in agreement. Yankumi smiled and then walked to the middle of the class.

"Alright, you guys, we'll dash together all the way to graduation. Follow me closely!"

"Oh!"

"3-D, fight-oh…"

"Oh!"

 **Author's Notes**

 **Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed the story so far next is the graduation special! Yamato and Hinako's son and daughter Hiroto and Yumiko will appear in this sp. Also, I'll be adding a new girl for the graduation special as well as the movie. Her name is Sayaka Akagi, she'll be Reita's love interest and be portrayed by Erena Ono. Yes, Erena from AKB48 as well.**

 **I will be finishing this story real soon.** **Thank you for reading/commenting/voting. XD ~Sydney-Chan7!**

 **Happy President's Day!**


	19. Sayaka's Description

~Sayaka's Description~

Name: Akagi Sayaka (Ono Erena)

Nickname: Saya-chan

Age: 16-17 in both the graduation special and movie

Height: 5'0" (154 cm)

Eyes: Dark Brown

Hair: Black (shoulder-length, styled in waves)

Personality: quiet, withdrawn, kind-hearted, always bright, confident, sometimes childish

Role: The female leader of Akadou High's 3-D and Reita's second-in-command (while Reita is the male leader of Class 3-D)

~Family~

Unnamed Parents (Deceased)

Akagi Ryoko (Grandmother)

Takasugi Reita (Friend, later Boyfriend)

School: Studied Aboard and Yagi Girls' High School (formerly) Akadou (current)

Class: 3-D (Akadou)

Uniform: Sayaka wore a Sailor fuku uniform with a short skirt. Over it she wore a long white cardigan, and she had a plaid ribbon on her collar.

Likes: Baking (especially lemon bars), cooking, gardening, flower arrangement, romance novels, reading manga, bargain hunting, boxing and martial arts, physical education, shopping, the colors yellow and red, home economics

Dislikes: Airplanes, cheaters, biology, playing pranks, love letters, goofing off

Weakness: Seeing metallic objects caused Sayaka to remember being attacked by female yankees from an unknown school. She was stabbed in the stomach with a switch blade by one of the girls. Sayaka revealed to have a large scar on her torso from this encounter.

Cellphone: It looks like Ichi's cellphone in episode 3 and it's the color red

About: Sayaka is a best/childhood friend of Hinako's. She studied aboard in the USA, because her parents wanted her to have a bright future. Just like Hinako, she lost her parents when they were killed in a plane crash while living aboard. After their deaths, Sayaka was sent under the care of her grandmother Ryoko Akagi back in Japan. There, Sayaka went to Yagi Girls' High School where she meets her ally (and later best friend) Megumi Hayashi. In the movie, Sayaka transferred to Akadou Academy for her last year of high school at the request of Hinako.

 **Author's Notes**

 **Sayaka is a female Japanese name that means "brilliant and clear". Akagi is a Japanese surname that means "red castle," "red tree," "crimson" or "red future".**

 **Erena Ono was a member of AKB48's Team K.**

 **AKB48 released "Aitakatta" from the major label "DefStar Records". In this song, 20 members are selected from the 36 members in TeamA & TeamK. Erena is one of the selected members.** **Erena was also one of the focal members of Team K, taking part in most group activities.** **On AKB48's concert at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium on a Sunday in July 2010, it was announced that Team K member Erena Ono would be graduating from AKB48 to study acting abroad. Erena graduated from AKB48 on September 27, 2010 in a Team K theater performance. Her blog was closed soon after on November 4. She opened a new blog again on July 27, 2011 and in early October 2011 it closed again. In October 30, 2011 finally, she opened a new blog once again.** **Erena said that she was going to study in London, but then decided to change her mind and stay in Tokyo. She stated that the reason was because she could not live outside the entertainment world. Now she is working under LesPros Entertainment and training hard to become an actress.**

 **In 2012, it was announced that Ono would have her solo debut with her debut single, "Erepyon". In 2013, it was announced that she would release her first album, titled "Erena". She's the first AKB graduated member to release an original album.**

 **She appeared in the 58th Annual Kohaku Utagassen. She'll also appear at the 2013 Tokyo Idol Festival. Erena won New Artist award from Japan Record Award and became nominee for Best New Artist. But she lost to Leo Ieiri.**

 **On July 7, 2014, she announced her retirement on her blog, and her contract with LesPros Entertainment expired on July 15, 2014.**


	20. Important Message!

Because of recent events, I will not be updating as constant as I would like to. Updates will come later maybe in June and later so I apologize. Please bare with me everyone; this sucks for me too. Thank you so much for reading my Gokusen 3 fanfic up to this point. I really hope things will clear up for me so that I can update like I want to.

Also, I'm removing Mayu Watanabe from the story because I was on a writer's block and didn't have any ideas for her in the story. I hope all of you will understand. So, I'm sorry...I hope no one is disappointed in me.

Thank you again! ~Sydney-Chan7


	21. Graduation SP

_**It's only a week till graduation and everyone in 3-D is happy about their "what to do in the future"? But in a wink of an eye, everything turned the other way around when they met a student named Reita from 2-D; a student who transferred from Ara High. Ren and Kuraki lost their job later on because of recession, according to the company. 3-D got suspended for picking a fight on 2-D and the class is falling apart. Later on, Reita is in trouble; 3-D seeing their previous self on him went through a big commotion to save him. On the other hand, Yamaguchi is to make the farewell speech but if she wants to save her student, surely, she will not make it. Will the 3-D graduate? Will she be able to deliver her speech?**_

Hinako was smiling as she looked turned toward the whole class and laughed. Despite the fact that graduation was only a few days away, they were running around being crazy and just having fun. Even Ichi and Kuraki were being crazy. Somethings never change.

"What's with the smile Hinako?"

Hinako turned to Izumi who was sitting next to Ren's desk.

"Oh, nothing." Hinako shook her head. "I'm just thinking." Izumi smiled.

Ren looked around the classroom and laughed. "We're still kids even though we're about to graduate, aren't we?"

Yamato turned to him and smiled. "We haven't matured at all."

"Got that right." Hinako agreed with a smile.

"No kidding." Izumi added with a smile as well.

Suddenly Honjo and Kamiya busted through the door.

"Guys!" Honjo shouted. "I found something interesting!"

"What? What? What?" Kuraki said, curiously.

"We got the graduation album!" Kamiya stated while Honjo held up a red book.

"OH!"

They walked to the desk in front of Ren and everyone in 3-D gathered around.

"Samples have come in, so…I brought one here secretly!" Honjo stated.

When he said that, Hinako rolled her eyes. Yep, something's never change.

Honjo opened the album, revealing many pictures that contained. He flipped through until Kura stopped him.

"Look, these are from the sports competition." He said.

Ichi nodded in agreement. "I remember the sports competition the best. Yankumi was really enthusiastic at that time." With that said, they all looked up remembering that day.

 _~Flashback~_

 _"Right now, our hearts have to be one, and let's aim for victory!" Yankumi cheered._

 _Hinako and Izumi got into cheerleading outfits (for the boys' sake) and they stood in line along with Ren and Yamato and some of the others, while the rest of the boys were out on the field._

 _"Hurray! 3D! Okay! Hurray, Hurray, 3D!"_

 _"Wah!"_

 _The other team for Class 3-A walked onto the field. Izumi's jaws just dropped at the size of them. She was so glad that she didn't have to play. The team started to shrink away._

" _Don't lose hope!" Yankumi shouted to them. "You guys look good, too! In terms of our facial expression."_

 _"What?" Ren looked at her so confused._

 _"What does that have to do with rugby?" Yamato asked._

" _Who knows…" Hinako stated._

" _Don't even ask why." Izumi added._

 _Team 3-D started to pump themselves up, but unfortunately in the very end, they were flattened. They ran to them. "Hey! Are you guys okay?"_

" _We could've gotten them if it had been a fist fight…" Honjo pointed out._

 _"Don't bother putting up a good front." Ichi smiled at him._

 _"Don't worry about winning or losing." Yankumi said. "It's important to not give up and to keep fighting till the end."_

 _"That's right!" Baba-sensei said coming to stand beside Yankumi. "I'm truly touched! It was a great match!"_

" _It was, wasn't it?" Yankumi smiled._

 _He nodded in agreement. "The 3D guys didn't even resort to foul play and played fair and square."_

" _Huh?" Yankumi's smile dropped._

" _Alright guys, let's take a picture!" He walked in front of them._

 _Class 3-D crowded together and smiled as the picture is taken._

 _~End of Flashback~_

Everyone looked at the picture that Baba-sensei took.

"We smiled with our best faces on." Yamato commented.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It was somehow fun." One of the boys said.

Everyone nodded.

"It's a miracle that you guys scored 5 points from Class A." Izumi added.

Everyone nodded again in agreement.

"But you know for me," Honjo turned the page, "what I remember most is the Akadou festival."

"Hottie Café!" Ren said.

"Not that, not that…" Honjo said. "The mysterious red mask!"

"Ah!" Kura poked Honjo's cheek. "Is it that? Huh?!"

Honjo smiled and nodded then began to tell them the story.

~ _Flashback~_

 _Honjo and Kura were carrying boxes to the Hottie Café when Kura turned to Honjo._

" _Hey."_

" _Hm?"_

" _Heard of the rumor of the Red-masked Giant that's been appearing recently around here?" Kura asked, curiously._

" _Ah, I've heard." Honjo nodded. "He suddenly appears when shakedown occur, beats down punks and disappears."_

" _No way!" Kura gasped. "I hear he's a 2 meter giant."_

" _Really?!" Honjo's eyes widened._

" _Really!"_

" _What kind freak is that?"_

" _I dunno."_

 _Suddenly someone rammed into Honjo and Kura._

" _O-Ouch." The guy and his friend turned to Honjo and Kura. "Watch where you're going…"_

" _Um…what do you mean?" Honjo laughed, nervously._

 _More guys joined the two and circled both Honjo and Kura._

" _We bothered to come to this boring school festival." The first guy said. "You pay us for it!"_

" _What are you saying?" Honjo laughed nervously again._

" _Shut up and give us money!"_

" _Hey, you guys. You've gone far enough." A familiar voice said._

 _The boys turned to see Yankumi all in red. The punks gathered together._

" _Who the hell are you?!" The second guy said._

" _An ally of justice." She said, behind her mask. "People call me, The Akadou Mask! If you leave now, I will overlook your crimes."_

 _Honjo and Kura looked at each other dumbfounded._

 _One of the punks walked up to Yankumi. "What are you babbling about?"_

 _Yankumi hit him in the stomach making him roll backwards. Then, she beat up the other into a nice big pile._

" _Evil is destined to destruction! See you later, young men! Carefully listen to your mothers. Alright?" She said to Honjo and Kura before she turned and started walking away laughing._

" _Wait Yankumi." Honjo called out to her._

 _She stopped and turned, "what?"_

 _Her eyes widened. She got caught._

" _So you're the Red Mask?" Kura asked as Honjo laughed._

" _No…um…" She pulled her mask off. "How did you know?"_

" _It was only obvious no matter how you saw it." Honjo explained._

" _What?"_

 _~End of Flashback~_

They laughed at the story. They looked at the picture of them during the festival. Honjo and Kura were on either side of Yankumi. They were wearing the mask and bandana of the Red Mask and pointing at Yankumi.

"It was funny." Izumi said.

"And she thought she disguised herself." Kura said.

"It's just like Yankumi." Hinako laughed.

"Yeah, yeah." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Ren crossed his eyes. "What I remember most is the senior trip."

"That was the worst." Yamato commented.

Without warning, Hinako nudged Yamato. "That's easy for you to say. I was the one who was around seven months pregnant with the twins at the time."

"Oh yeah, you're were still pregnant with the twins." Izumi smiled.

 _~Flashback~_

 _Hinako was sitting on the charter bus right beside Yamato when it finally came to a stop._

" _Everyone, we've arrived at Kiyomizu Temple!" Yankumi explained. "Get ready!"_

 _They cheered. Suddenly Sawatari came on the bus and told Yankumi something. Then, she looked at him in shock. Sawatari turned to 3-D._

" _Everyone!" Sawatari shouted. "It's unfortunate, but it looks like the Kiyomizu Temple is closed today." He explained. "Let's go to the next stop!"_

" _Closed?" Yamato said, looking confused. Ren suddenly jumped from his seat looking out the window. They followed his gaze to see a rival school. The boys opened their windows and started shouting at the rivals as the bus drove away. Izumi rolled her eyes at them. Later, they arrived at the next stop, Hinako's legs were becoming numb._

" _Everyone, we've arrived." Yankumi said. "Please exit the bus."_

 _They cheered, but once again Sawatari came on the bus and talked to Yankumi. And she gasped._

" _We've canceled!" He called out to the class._

" _What?!"_

" _We're not getting off again?" Ren said, looking confused._

 _The boys started to complain until Yamato pointed out the window. Outside was a bunch of high school girls with really short skirts. The 3-D boys, expect for Yamato and Ren, pressed their faces toward the windows. As the bus drove away, Hinako sighed. Yamato turned to her._

" _What's wrong Hinako?" He asked._

" _Nothing." Hinako replied as she crossed her arms._

" _Then why are you pouting?"_

 _Hinako looked at him in the eyes. "Do you think I'm fat?"_

" _EH?!" Yamato looked at her in shock._

" _Just admit it Ogata Yamato!" Hinako shouted. "You think I'm fat and probably ugly!"_

 _Hinako's outburst got the attention of the others in their group._

" _I…I…"_

 _Suddenly, Hinako started to cry. Yamato turned to the others for help, including Izumi, but they inched away from them. Yamato turned back to Hinako._

" _Why would you think of something like that?" He asked._

" _Because you were looking at those girls with short skirts." Hinako replied._

" _I was sitting here with you the entire time!"_

" _But you were the one who pointed at them!"_

 _He sighed while wrapping his arms around her and then whispered. "Remember when we were talking outside of the police station after you and the guys prove my innocence?" Hinako nodded. "Remember what I told you." Hinako nodded again. "That was true then and it's true now as well. I really do love you Hinako, always had, always will. You're not ugly. Nowhere near that, okay?"_

" _Okay…" Hinako sniffed. "I love you too, Yamato."_

 _Yamato let out a sigh of relief as Hinako snuggled closer to him._

" _Pregnant girls are crazy, don't you think?" Honjo whispered to the others._

 _The others nodded in agreement._

 _~End of Flashback~_

In the photo, they looked at all the cellphones of the trip.

"You know, after all, we were on the bus most of the time that day." Yamato commented.

"Who knows, you guys could've gotten girlfriends on the trip." Ren commented.

The whole class nodded.

"Damn Yankumi, she's too much." Kamiya nodded.

"We're graduating without even getting girlfriends." Honjo said.

"We're a sorry bunch." Kura commented.

"Too pathetic." Ichi added.

"Yamato and Ren are the lucky ones!" Honjo commented. "Having both Hina-chan and Mi-chan for girlfriends!" Hinako rolled her eyes as the boys began to whine.

Until Izumi changed the subject.

"You know, there's one memory I won't forget." Izumi said.

"What's that Izumi?" Ren asked.

"The day that the twins were born."

"Oh yeah, I remember that day too!" Ichi smiled.

"Me too!" Kura smiled.

"Now that was a day I would never forget." Yamato commented, while smiling at Hinako.

The 8 and the rest of the class all looked up remembering the day.

 _~Flashback: One Month Earlier~_

 _Yamato was standing at the door of the delivery room, waiting for news of Hinako and the twins._

" _Ogata!"_

" _Yamato!"_

" _Yamaguchi! Everyone!" Yamato turned to them._

" _How is Takaishi?" Yankumi asked. "Any news?"_

" _Not yet." Yamato replied. "I'm worried. It's not even the due date."_

" _Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be alright." Yankumi tells him. "Shouldn't you lie down for a bit?"_

" _No, I'm fine." Yamato said as he tries to calm down. "Hinako's working hard right now…I can't take a break. I want to be right here for her sake and for the lives of our babies…" With that said, Yankumi smiled because he wanted to be strong for Hinako and the twins._

 _For the whole time, Yamato didn't sit once. He stood at the door, praying. Suddenly, a baby's cry was heard from the other side of the door. Then, another baby's cry was heard._

" _They're born!" Izumi cheered._

 _A nurse came out of the delivery room. "Ogata-san, congratulations! You have two healthy babies! A boy and a girl!"_

" _Congratulations Ogata." Yankumi smiled._

" _Congratulations!" Izumi and the 5 other boys smiled as well._

" _Now, you go see Takaishi and your babies." Yankumi said as she pushed Yamato towards the door. With that said, he nodded and practically ran into the room. Yamato walked in to find Hinako looked really drained with her hair was slightly frizzled and her skin being moist from her sweat. Hinako raised her head noticing Yamato approaching her, and a smile beamed across her face. He walks up to her and kissed her forehead._

" _You did well."_

" _Thank you…"_

 _Yamato looked around the room. "Where's the twins?"_

" _The nurses are bringing them." Hinako tells him. With the said, he backed up as two nurses rolled two baby beds into the room. Inside them both was two little babies. A boy and a girl._

" _Aren't they adorable?" Hinako asked._

" _Yes, they are." Yamato said, while looking at the twins. "These two did their best to be born."_

" _Yeah, I was so happy to see their faces." Hinako said, holding onto a baby's bed._

 _After that, the nurses moved Hinako and the twins into another room. Yankumi and the others walked in. Right behind them was Yamato's mom._

 _They saw Yamato was holding the baby boy and Hinako was holding the baby girl._

 _That's when the two of them revealed the names for the twins._

" _This child, a girl…" Hinako said. "Her name is…Yumiko."_

" _Yumiko?" Yankumi looked puzzled, noticed that her name sounded similar._

" _Yeah, I named her after you." Hinako stated. "Instead of Kumiko, it's Yumiko."_

 _With that said, Izumi and the boys gave out 'awws' making Yankumi blush._

" _And this child, a boy and her older brother." Yamato said. "His name is…Hiroto."_

" _Those are great names, aren't they?" Izumi said. "Yumiko and Hiroto."_

" _Yeah." Ren smiled._

 _After revealing the names, Izumi wanted to hold Yumiko while the boys fight over on who should hold Hiroto first. Hinako and Yamato rolled her eyes._

" _You guys…" Yankumi sighed. "Don't drag Hiroto into your fight."_

 _Izumi looked down at Yumiko, "I'm so sorry you and Hiroto have idiots for uncles. But don't you worry, your aunt has got your backs." Yumiko just stared at Izumi._

 _~Flashback End~_

"That was a day I would never forget." Yankumi said.

Everyone in 3-D jumped back, "Yankumi!"

"Ya know, you need to stop popping out of nowhere like that!" Izumi said, still startled.

Yankumi ignored her and went for the graduation book.

"You guys look good smiling. Ah! This one is the best." She said, making them smile. "Oh! Look at that smile. Maybe model material." The boys began to laugh sheepishly. "I mean, me."

"Huh?!"

"You, a model?" Yamato said while motioning to Hinako who rolled her eyes.

"This takes me back…This was before summer break…" Suddenly her face just dropped. "Why is the graduation album here? You guys took the sample album without asking?"

"Got caught…" Kura whispered.

"What do you mean, "got caught"?!"

"Don't be so uptight." Izumi said.

"You guys…Listen, you have 9 more days till graduation." She starts to lecture. "Don't let your guard down and go wild, okay?"

"We know, Yankumi." Hinako said as Izumi and the boys nodded. "Don't worry."

"Alright." Yankumi smiled. "Smile and graduate together!"

"Oh!"

The lunch bell finally rang. Everyone got their lunches, expect for Honjo, Kura, Kamiya, and Izumi.

"I don't have any money." Kura whined.

"Alright, I got it. I'll have a chicken sandwich." Kamiya said.

"I want to eat the pork cutlet sandwich, but it's hard to ignore the fried noodle stuffed bread!" Honjo said.

"Which one should I pick?!" Izumi whined, while doing Eeny-meeny-miny-moe.

"Hurry up." Yamato called out as Hinako, Ren, and Ichi laughed at them.

"Alright, I got it!" Honjo cheered. "I'll get this." He went for the fried noodle stuffed bread, but someone else took it before he could. Honjo just stood there in shock for only a second before walking after the person, who was a second-year student.

"Hey!" He turned the boy. "Hey, I was about to buy that fried noodle stuffed bread!"

"Huh? But I grabbed it first." The boy said as his friends came up behind him.

Izumi, Kura, and Kamiya came up behind Honjo.

"For a second-year student, aren't you being cocky?" Honjo laughed as he grabbed his jacket.

"Honjo." Yamato said as he, Hinako, Ren, and Ichi walked towards them.

"Shut up and hand over the bread." Kamiya commanded.

"C'mon, just pick something else…" Ichi said trying to calm Honjo down but Honjo shrugged him off.

Then Kura jumped in the middle. "A grudge over food…" He takes the bread out of the boy's hand. "Can be scary, you know."

"That's so true." Izumi added, while glaring at the second-years.

Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed Kura's wrist. They looked at him. Hinako took in his aura and she concluded that he was the leader. No doubt about it.

"What's with your hand?" Kura glared.

"Can't you tell from looking?" The new boy asked, while taking the bread from Kura before throwing his arm down.

"Don't mess with me, bastard!" Kura shouted.

They were about to fight until a familiar voice broke through.

"Yummy!"

They turned to see Yankumi eating. Hinako looked at the boy's hand to see the bread was gone.

"No wonder it's so popular. Very yummy!" She said, happily.

"Why are you eating my fried noodle stuffed bread?!" Honjo whined, forgetting about the second-years.

"Don't pop out of nowhere!" Kamiya shouted.

"Hm? Want some?" Yankumi turned to us and tore the bread in half. "Here."

"Who'd want that?! Stupid!" Kura said.

"Then, I'll take it!" Ren laughed as he and Izumi went for the bread.

With that said, the others went after him. "I want it! I want!"

Hinako sighed as she shook her head at them. Then she looked at Yamato who was looking at the leader, who was looking right back at him. The boy dropped his gaze and turned to his friends.

"Let's go."

And they left.

"Do you know him?" Hinako asked Yamato.

"I'll tell you later." He replied.

Right after school, Yamato and Hinako got the twins Hiroto and Yumiko from Yamato's mother, then they decided to go to Kumai-san's. Honjo was still complaining about those second-years, even though it was hours ago.

"Ugh! Those 2D bastards really piss me off!"

"Let's kick their asses before graduation!" Kamiya added.

"Yeah!" Kura agreed. "Let's kick them in the ass real good!"

"Hey, don't get so worked up!" Hinako said while rocking Yumiko. "You're upsetting Yumiko."

"Sorry…" The three dropped their heads.

"It's not long before the graduation ceremony." Kumai-san said who was listening to the conversation along with Ami-chan who was holding their daughter. "Don't make Yankumi worry."

Honjo lifted his head to speak. "But ya know, we have pride as seniors."

Yamato snickered as he rocked Hiroto. "I wouldn't call it pride since it's over fried noodle stuffed bread."

"Shut up!" Honjo blushed.

They laughed.

"Hey, hey. Has everyone here decided on their futures?" Ami-chan asked.

"Yeah." Ren nodded. "Kuraki and I both found jobs at the same moving company."

"Really? That's great!" Kumai-san said. "I bet your sister is really happy."

"She is!" Izumi laughed.

"Congrats!" Ami-chan said.

"I just got my driver's license so I can work hard now." Kura cheered.

"I'm going to college!" Ichi said.

"I'm starting my training in tofu making at my dad's shop!" Honjo straightened, while Ichi laughed.

"Ogata and I are going to vocational schools." Kamiya said, while being cool.

"It's out of character, I know." Yamato said, taking his chopsticks out of Hiroto's hand. "But I thought I'd try studying for a bit."

Kumai-san turned to Izumi.

"I'm studying to become a doctor." Izumi smiled. "Right now, I'm working part-time at the Hospital as a volunteer nurse. But hopefully soon I'll become a good doctor. It'll be a lot of work, but I think I can do it."

Then Kumai-san turned to Hinako.

"I'm working on becoming a teacher just like Yankumi." Hinako said as Yumiko gripped Hinako's finger in her small hand. "And hopefully when Hiroto and Yumiko get bigger, that's when I'll be a teacher."

"Alright!" Kumai-san nodded. "Today, to celebrate your futures, eat all you want, and it'll be on the house!"

With that said, the boys began to order a lot of food. Hinako took Hiroto so Yamato could eat while Izumi took Yumiko.

"We're surrounded by a bunch of gluttons." Izumi tells Hinako who nodded.

Once everyone was full, they left. The group of 8 walked around just talking and laughing.

"We've almost graduated." Ren said.

"I dunno what to think of it." Yamato said as he adjusted little Hiroto on his arm.

"I didn't think that we would graduate up until recently." Honjo laughed.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kura and Ichi jumped in front of them. "Let's surprise Yankumi before graduation!"

"Actually, we have a good idea!" Ichi cheered.

Before they could ask, Kamiya got their attention. He pointed down from their position on a bridge.

"It's him…"

The eight looked down to see the 2D leader hanging out with some other boys who looked a bit too old to be in high school.

"Isn't it that cocky 2D bastards?" Kamiya asked.

"Reita…"

Everyone turned to Yamato.

"Eh? You know him?" Ichi asked.

"He's a childhood friend." Yamato answered.

"Seriously?" Honjo said.

"The others are former Ara High guys, right?" Ren asked. "I heard rumors of Ara High graduates getting themselves into some deep shit."

"Why is he hanging out with them?" Ichi wondered.

"Reita was at Ara High till summer." Yamato explained.

"So that beat transferred from Ara High?" Kura sneered.

They watched the boys below until Yumiko and Hiroto started to fuss. Yamato and Hinako went home and put the twins to bed between them. They started to get ready for bed.

"Are you okay, Yamato?" Hinako asked as she pats Yumiko's chest.

"About what?" Yamato turned to her as he does the same thing to Hiroto.

"Reita." Hinako replied. "Finding out that your childhood friend is…well…like what we were or what we used to be.

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Yamato said as he kissed Hinako's forehead.

Hinako nodded and they went to bed.

The next morning, Yamato and Hinako dropped off the twins and went straight to school. Everything was normal until Izumi came running into the room. She tells them that Ren and Kura lost their jobs because of recession, according to the company, which means Ren and Kura won't get their jobs after they graduate.

"Really? They lost their jobs?" Yamato stood from his desk.

"Yeah, I heard Yankumi talking about it in the staff room." Izumi explained.

"I wonder if they're doing okay?" Kamiya asked, while worrying.

"Kura was really happy about it." Ichi said.

"Ren had a job secured too, we thought they…" Honjo paused.

With that said, the group of six looked down and were very sad for their friends. The day just turned horrible. Because right after school, Yamato and Hinako got the twins and started walking around with their friends. However, Kura was walking ahead of them with Ren bringing up the back. Izumi stayed beside Ren with Yumiko in her arms as the others tried to catch up to Kura.

"Hey, Kura! Kura!"

He kept walking until a group of boys knocked into him. "Bastard, that hurt!" Kura yelled out, turning to the boys.

Getting closer, Hinako saw the group and it was the 2D boys from the other day.

"You guys again?" Kura growled.

The boys went towards them, but Reita stopped them.

"You're the one who bumped into me, you know." Reita said.

With that said, Kura started to get more annoyed. "What kind of comment of that? You're not even sorry for bumping into me?!" Kura grabbed Reita. Yamato quickly got in between them. But then Honjo and Kamiya tried to grab the other 2D boys but Ren stepped in.

"There's no point to associate with these bastards!" Ren shouted.

Suddenly everyone stopped.

"These bastards?" Reita said as he got closer to Ren.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to associate with brats like you." Ren explained.

"Try saying that again, bastard." Reita growled.

"What?" Ren said as Kura pushed him out of the way.

"I don't wanna hear your cocky mouth!" Kura shouted.

He went for Reita again, but Yamato stopped him.

"Stop it, Kura!" Yamato shouted.

Yumiko started to fuss in Izumi's arms, while Hiroto does the same thing in Hinako's arms.

"Hit me!" Reita yelled out. "C'mon, try hitting me!"

"Damn bratty bastard!" Kura struggled in Yamato's grip.

"What are you up to?!"

Everyone turned to see a pair of cops. They started to run. The 3D group went one way, and the 2D boys went the other way. Yamato stopped and looked back, making Hinako stop as well.

"Reita!" Yamato shouted.

Reita turned to him for a second as well before running after his friends.

"Yamato, come on! We got to go!" Hinako yelled.

Yamato and Hinako ran after the others before the cops could even catch them. They finally stopped. Izumi managed to calm Yumiko down, but Hiroto was still fussing.

"It's okay now Hiroto. Calm down…"

Yamato gently took him out of Hinako's arms, and started rocking him and make him fall asleep.

"Thank you, Yamato."

He nodded.

The next morning, Izumi was walking straight to the classroom.

"Izumi!"

Izumi turned to see Kura running up to her. "Oh, hey there, Kura. How are you this morning?"

"A little better." He gave her a weak smile.

The two of them started walking to class.

"Hey Kura! Mi-chan!" They turned to see Honjo and Kamiya running to them. "Morning!"

They started walking up some stairs until they stopped and saw the 2D group waiting for them. Kura glared at them. Izumi quickly went in front of him.

"Kura, please not now. Not today. Please…"

He nodded. Izumi put her hand on his arm for support as they walked past them.

"Oh? Ignoring me?" Reita snickered making the boys stop which made Izumi stop. "How lame!"

"Hey, you." Kamiya turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"Kamiya, stop!"

Izumi was ignored as Reita walked towards them.

"You talk all cocky, but you're scared to fight because it's almost graduation."

"3D isn't a big deal, after all."

"Was it a lie that you controlled Akadou?"

They laughed as more 3D boys gathered around.

"Don't get carried away!" Honjo yelled.

"Honjo please…"

"We were…planning to destroy your graduation ceremony." Reita smiled at them. "Look forward to it."

They started to walk away, but Kura stopped them.

"Hey bastard! Wait one sec."

"Guys, come on! They're not worth it!" Izumi begged.

But they didn't listen to her. They led the 2D boys outside. Izumi quickly ran to the classroom.

"Bad news!" Izumi shouted. "Kura and some of the others took the 2D guys out to the back!"

With that said, they quickly made their way to the back of the school. When they got there, both class 2D and 3D were already fighting. Yamato, Ren, Ichi, Hinako and Izumi, along with others in 3-D tried to get their fellow classmates to stop fighting 2-D. Yankumi and some of the teachers came out to stop the fight as well. The fight was eventually stop and everyone went back to their classrooms. In Class 3D, the ones who fought (including Honjo, Kura, and Kamiya) stood at the front of the class when Sawatari and the chairman came in.

"What were you doing at such an important time?!" Sawatari scolded.

"It is preposterous to be fighting within the school." The Chairman said. "I hear that you seniors were the ones that called them out."

"But they provoked us!" Kura growled.

"They started it!" Honjo argued.

"Kuraki! Honjo!" Yankumi said, making them shut up and drop their heads.

"I will not overlook your actions." The chairman continued to speak as she motioned to the ones who fought. "Everyone…is suspended until graduation day." When she said that, the ones who didn't fought (including Yamato, Ren, Ichi, Hinako, and Izumi) looked at her in shock. "Please seriously reflect on your actions."

Then, the chairman walked out with Sawatari behind her.

After a few seconds of silence, Honjo kicked a desk over. "I can't accept this!" He yelled out.

"Why single us out?" Kamiya added. They walked to their desks and sat down.

Yankumi stepped forward to speak. "This isn't the time for you guys to be fighting anyway."

"We can't keep quiet when the juniors are making fools of us!" One of them yelled out.

"They're the ones who challenge us first!"

"Those guys had pissed us off for a while."

"Hey, let's finish it!"

"Stop!" Yamato yelled out. "If we cause a problem now, we probably won't all graduate together!"

"I'm sorry." Ren stepped forward. "The fight probably started because of me. I said a little too much to those guys yesterday."

"It's not your fault!" Ichi spoke up. "You didn't even lift a finger."

"That's right!" Hinako added.

"You guys overdid it." One of the 3D boys said.

"Geez. Don't even deal with the juniors." Another one spoke.

"What?" Honjo stood up. "Stop acting like adults."

"It's you guys that are childish!"

"Say that again!" Honjo grabbed the guy's jacket.

"Cut it out!" Yankumi said.

Honjo quickly let go.

"I don't care about myself, but withdraw Kura's suspension." Kamiya said as he stood up.

"That's right." Honjo nodded. "This will affect his job search."

When he said that, Izumi took a deep breath before speaking. "If you're so worried about Kura's job search, then why didn't you guys listen to me and stop before the fight?! You guys should've listened to me and ignore the juniors! So, why didn't ya?! Huh?!"

"Izumi…" Hinako mumbled.

They looked down in disappointment as Yankumi stepped forward.

"Kuraki…you have to do job interviews starting now. Do you plan to interview with a bruised face from a trivial fight?"

Kura slammed his fist down on his desk.

"Kura." Ichi leaned on his desk. "I understand what you're feeling, but just chill out."

"You understand?" Kura stood up. "Don't make me laugh. Do you guys understand how I feel?"

"Don't sulk about it forever." Ichi said.

Suddenly Kura laughed. "You're looking down on me, aren't you?" He grabbed Ichi's shirt. "Is going to college that great?"

"Stop it!" Yamato said.

"Don't act like an honor student bastard!" Kura shouted as he shoved Ichi.

"You bastard!" Ichi said as he shoved Kura back.

Then, a fight broke out.

"Stop this nonsense!" Yankumi yelled out, making them stop. "What on earth has gotten into you guys? You guys can be here together for another week only. And yet, you guys fighting like this…What are you doing wasting this time you have left?! The graduation ceremony is coming up."

"What's your point?" Kura glared at her. "The graduation ceremony is over-hyped anyway!"

"It doesn't matter if we show up." Honjo added.

"We can graduate even if we don't show up." Kamiya also added.

With that said, they left followed by the rest who fought. Yamato, Ren, and the others tried to stop them, but they just ignored them.

' _How did it become like this? Why did this have to happen?_ ' Hinako sighed.

~The Next Day~

Yankumi walked into the classroom looking happy. "Morning!" She said.

The class stayed silent as Yankumi went to the front desk.

"Let's march through today! Let's see. Please open your textbooks to page 56. We'll start with the review from the last time. Let's take a look at the example: x+y=1. 2x squared-y squared=…"

For the next few days, Yankumi started looking for jobs who would take Ren and Kura after graduation, while at the same time Yamato, Ren, Ichi, and the girls walked up to Reita and his group.

"What do you want?" Reita asked, with a smug look on his face.

Yamato took a step forward. "We are serious about graduating."

"So please don't give us any more trouble." Ren added.

Then, Reita walked up to Yamato. "Did that teacher put you guys up to this? I don't believe in teachers. At my old school, if students caused trouble, they would be expelled and thrown out. All teachers are the same. They're the same."

"You're wrong!" Izumi yelled. "They're not all the same!"

Ichi stepped forward. "Yankumi is different from them."

"There's adults that you can trust. Believe us. We've been there." Hinako added.

With that said, Reita looked at Yamato before walking past them with his group.

Right after school, Hinako was walking out of school with the others when she saw a girl standing right beside the school gate. Izumi noticed her as well. She gives a nod to Hinako, who gives a nod back as well.

"You guys go on ahead." Hinako tells the three boys. "There's something Izumi and I need to do."

The boys nodded and started to walk away.

Hinako and Izumi walked up to the girl, noticed the look of her uniform.

"I know I've seen that uniforms somewhere before." Izumi said.

"Yeah, judging by the look of the uniforms. She's from the Yagi Girls' High School. Don't you think?" Hinako asked. Izumi nodded as she and Hinako stood only a few inches of the girl.

The girl was wearing a navy-blue sailor fuku uniform with a short skirt. Over it was a long white cardigan and she had a plaid ribbon on her collar. Her hair was black and shoulder-length, styled in waves.

The girl saw Hinako and Izumi coming towards her and she quickly moved back a little bit.

"Can we help you?" Hinako first spoke.

"Hai." The girl nodded timidly. "My name is Sayaka." She said, before handing Hinako a folded piece of paper. "Can you please give this note to Takasugi-san?" She asked.

Hinako and Izumi both looked at her in shock. "Takasugi as in Takasugi Reita?" Izumi asked.

"Yes." Sayaka nodded.

"Sure, I'll can give it to him." Hinako smiled.

"Thank you so much." Sayaka bowed. "Tell him I said thank you."

"Will do." Hinako replied with a smile again. "Sayaka…"

With that said, Sayaka left. Hinako placed the paper into her pocket before she and Izumi start running after the boys.

"Do you know that Sayaka girl?" Izumi asked.

"She's a childhood friend of mine." Hinako answered.

"Really?" Izumi looked in shock.

"Yes." Hinako nodded.

After picking up the twins and started walking around, it soon became dark and the group of five decided to find Honjo, Kura, and Kamiya. When they did, they tell them to come and follow them.

"What's going on?" Kura asked.

They stopped outside a building.

"Look at that." Yamato said as he pointed.

They looked to see Yankumi constantly bowing at a man. Every time he would walk away, she would quickly get in front of him and start bowing again and again.

"Everyday, she's been going around to various places like this." Ren explained.

"Even though the graduation is tomorrow, she's not giving up." Yamato pointed out.

"It's just like Yankumi." Ichi smiled.

"She's always thinking about us." Izumi nodded.

The five turned to Honjo, "For Yankumi's sake, let's all show up together at the graduation ceremony. Without you guys, it won't be our 3D graduation." Hinako said as she looked down at Yumiko and Hiroto in Izumi's arms. "And I'm sure Yumiko and Hiroto agree as well."

When she said, both the twins gave a little smile making the boys smile.

"Okay." Kura nodded.

"Sorry." Honjo said.

"Me, too." Kamiya agreed.

The five all smiled even bigger. They watched Yankumi until something caught Hinako's eye. It was Reita talking to Yankumi.

"Hey guys, I'll be right back."

Hinako walked up to Reita, who was watching Yankumi walked away. He glanced at Hinako.

"What do you want?" He said.

Hinako reached into her pocket of her blazer and took out the piece of paper. "I have this for you." Reita took the paper with a confused look on his face. "A girl named Sayaka…wanted me to give this to you and she said, 'thank you'."

"Sayaka?!" Reita's eyes quickly widen before looking down at the paper. Then, he pocketed it and gave her a quick nod before walking away.

Hinako walked back to the others, and they all went to their homes.

The next morning, Hinako woke up late, so she tells Yamato to go take the twins to his mother's, and then go on to school without her. Hinako quickly got herself dressed and made her way to school. On her way there, she saw Sayaka, running towards her with a frightened look on her face.

"Help…pl…please…help." Sayaka panted.

"Sayaka! What wrong?!" Hinako asked.

"They took Reita." She replied.

"Who did?"

"The group of Ara high grads that he was hanging out with. Reita told me that he was cutting ties with them last night, and they must've been mad." Sayaka stated.

"Where did they take them?" Hinako asked again.

"They took them that way…" Sayaka said as she pointed toward the direction where the old warehouses are.

"Okay." Hinako nodded as she understood. "Sayaka listen to me, you go to Akadou and go to Class 3D and tell an Ogata Yamato and a Kazama Ren what you just told me. Izumi will be there as well. You tell her as well."

At that moment, Sayaka looked even more frighten. "But…"

"Do you want to help Reita or not?!" Hinako shouted.

With that said, Sayaka nodded as she took off running towards Akadou. As for Hinako, she took off running into the direction of the warehouses.

Meanwhile, in Class 3D, everyone was getting ready for the graduation ceremony. At the same time, the boys were interested in Izumi's new hairstyle. It was a layered bob with a bit pulled up into a small ponytail to the right side of her head.

When suddenly the door opened, Sayaka came running in towards Izumi, Yamato and Ren.

"Izumi!" Sayaka shouted.

"Sayaka!" Izumi said as she stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"Reita of 2D was taken!"

With that said, the two boys stood up from their desks. "What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"Reita got into a dispute with some Ara High grads. Last night, he told me that he was cutting ties with them, and that must have made them mad." Sayaka stated. "Hinako send me for you three."

"Wait a minute…where is Hinako?" Ren asked again.

"She went to rescue Reita." She replied.

"By herself?!" Izumi shouted as the rest of the class looked in shock.

"Yes…" Sayaka nodded.

"Reita…Hinako…" Yamato mumbled. Without warning, Yamato quickly start to run out of the classroom, but he was stopped by Honjo, who was calling out for him. "Hey Yamato!" He shouted.

"Don't tell me you're really going." Honjo said as he stood up.

"We're about to graduate!" Ichi said as he stood up as well.

"But!" Yamato shouted.

Ren and Izumi quickly walked up to the classroom to go along with Yamato. "Let's go." Ren said, but he and Izumi were both stopped by Kura and Honjo.

"Hey Ren!" Kura shouted.

"Stop!" Honjo shouted. "Aren't we all graduating together?!"

"Are you betraying Yankumi?" Kamiya asked.

"Forget that guy!" One of the 3D boys stood up.

"He deserves it!" Another boy said.

"You reap what you sow!" Another one added.

"But how can we leave him alone?!" Ren shouted.

With that said, the whole class went silent.

"He is just like us a little while ago." Yamato stated. "He can't trust adults, always rebels against teachers…We were just like that before!" Suddenly Ren grab one of the yearbooks.

"Take a look at us during freshmen and sophomore year." Ren said as the 3D boys opened their yearbooks to look at their pictures. "Even though we went to school, none of us were smiling."

"It's a big different compared to now." Honjo said.

"You're right." Kamiya said. "We…were always laughing like idiots. Even though the sports competition and Akadou festival ended in disappointment."

"What made him so much fun, I wonder." Kura said.

"I dunno, but it was a lot of fun." Ichi said.

"Since meeting Yankumi, we've changed." Ren said.

At that moment, they started to remember their memories with Yankumi. Then, Yamato spoke.

"It's just that guys like Reita…haven't had the chance to meet adults like Yamaguchi!" He said. "That's why I want to show the way to Reita, his friends and other lower-classmen."

"It may be that we're the only ones that can understand them." Izumi added.

The boys stayed silent until Ichi closed his yearbook and slammed it on his desk. "Geez. I'm no match for you." He said. "You two always take the good part."

"True enough…" Honjo added.

"Guys…" Yamato said as Ren smiled.

"Let's go." Honjo said.

"We can't graduate with smiles if we desert the lower class in trouble." Kura said.

"I'm going too." One of the 3D boys stood.

"Me too." Another boy stood.

"I'm going too!" Murayama-kun said as he stood.

Then, the rest of the class stood.

"You guys aren't going!" Yamato shouted. "Yamaguchi is really looking forward to the graduation ceremony!"

"Stupid." Kamiya said. "All of us…will graduate together."

"If you two are missing, we wouldn't be class 3D." Ichi said. "Especially Izumi and Hinako." Ichi looked towards Izumi, who started to blush.

"Now what?" Ren asked as he looked at Yamato while smiling.

For a minute, Yamato didn't say anything. Then, he looked up at class 3D. "We're not going to fight." He said. "We're only going to get him back." With that said, the 3D boys (expect for Ren, Izumi, and Sayaka) nodded.

"Alright!" Ren said. "Let's go!"

"YEAH!" Class 3D shot up.

They ran out of the classroom, through the hallways, and out of the school…

Elsewhere, Hinako arrived at the warehouses and spotted the Ara High graduates. They were pulling Reita into a warehouse. Hinako sneaks in and hides behind some boxes. They started beating the crap out of him.

"You get it?" The Ara High leader asked.

"I don't." Reita replied.

With that said, the leader continued to beat the crap out of Reita even more. Hinako was about to go help him when suddenly class 3D busted into the warehouse.

"Reita!" Yamato called out as Hinako came out from her hiding place to stand with him and the rest of the class.

The Ara High grads and Reita looked at them. "Who are you guys?!" The leader asked.

"We're Akadou Academy's Class 3D." Yamato said as he stepped forward.

"What?" The leader said.

Ren stepped forward. "We're his upper-classmen now."

"Can you guys lay off him already?" Ichi asked.

"So, you Akadou dudes came here to start a fight with us Ara High grads?" The leader asked as he and his gang started to laugh.

"We didn't come here for that reason." Honjo said as he stepped forward.

"We came to get him." Kura added, stepping forward as well.

"So…can't you let up on him now?" Kamiya asked, while stepping forward.

"Please, spare him." Hinako said as Izumi and the rest of the class walked up behind him. The Ara High grads stood there in silent and disperse. They ran over to Reita.

"Reita!" Yamato knelt down beside him. "You okay?"

"Butt out." Reita replied.

"How can we butt out?!" Yamato asked as he helped Reita to his feet.

Ren turned to the leader. "Sorry, but we're taking him."

"That's not happening." The leader said, as he raised his arm as a signal.

Suddenly one of the grads shut the door and locked it. The rest of the Ara grads came out of the shadows with pipes in their hands.

"Uh oh…" Izumi said, looking worried.

"I still haven't taught him a lesson!" The leader shouted.

Without any warning, the grads came at them, but they were mainly after Reita. However, class 3D kept pushing him out of the way and taking the blows. Hinako and Izumi kept Reita with them. Five of the grads grabbed the three, but luckily Yamato and Ren pulled them off.

"Hurry, go! Escape!" Ren yelled out.

"We'll keep them busy! You girls get him out of here!" Yamato yelled out. "Go! Hurry!"

Hinako and Izumi started helping Reita to the door and opened the door (just a tad) until they were kicked down by the leader. He grabbed a pipe from the ground and was about to hit Reita with it. When suddenly a loud bang shook the warehouse.

"Yankumi…" Hinako smiled.

"Took her long enough to get here." Izumi smiled.

Judging by the looks on the 3D boys' face, they all thought the same thing as well. Everyone in there froze as a small part of the roof caved in. The dust cleared and on top of the rubble stood Yankumi.

"Yankumi…" Ren said.

"Yamaguchi…" Yamato said.

"You guys have done more than enough." Yankumi spoke.

"What are you?" The Ara Grads leader asked.

"Me?" Yankumi started to walk towards him. "I am their teacher."

"Huh? You're a teacher?" The leader said as he and the grads laughed. "Miss Teacher! We're just teaching Reita a lesson."

"A lesson?"

"We treated Reita as a friend even after he went to Akadou, but he tried to leave us with one simple phone call."

"Takasugi…" She looked at Reita.

Reita didn't say anything. He just looked away.

"We can't let the brat look down on us!" The leader said as he handed the pipe to another grad. "Miss Teacher. You better go home if you don't wanna get hurt." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"He made a big mistake…" Hinako mumbled.

Yankumi twisted his arm and shoved him to the ground.

"Bitch." He got up in shock. "I won't go easy even if you're a woman!"

"That is my line." Yankumi said. "In order to protect my beloved student, I won't go easy on you."

The Ara grads started to attack her, but she easily beat them to the ground. The last one left standing was the leader, who turned and ran like the coward he was. The other grads ran after him like cowards as well.

"Why?" Reita asked. "Why would a teacher come to such a place?"

Yankumi turned to him. "For my students, I will go anywhere and do anything. You guys are worth that much to me." She motioned to class 3D. "These guys were rebellious at first, and they wouldn't even listen to a single word that I said. 'Shut up' and 'Butt out' were the only things that came out of their mouths. But...all of them always butted heads with me. Their roots are very straight and they are honest to the point of naivety."

Everyone in 3D started helping each other up. They came and circle Reita and Yankumi as Hinako and Izumi stood. Hinako went straight to Yamato's side who wrapped his arm around her waist bringing her closer to him. As for Izumi, she went straight to Ren's side and he did the same thing, wrapping his arm around her waist as well. Yankumi knelt down in front of Reita.

"Takasugi. Do you understand the reason why they came here and neglected their own graduation?" Yankumi asked as Reita stayed silent. "They wanted to tell you something important." She looked at class 3D and stood. "Isn't that right?"

They all nodded.

Yamato started to speak. "When we look at you, we remember how we were." Yamato said before helping Reita to his feet "That's why we couldn't ignore this."

"We've done something similar loads of times." Honjo explained.

"But...we've found life-long friends at Akadou." Ren added.

"We're all idiots, though." Kura said as he smiled.

"Don't call us idiots! You idiot!" Izumi said, making everyone laugh.

"Takasugi. You've also made that step courageously, haven't you?" Yankumi asked. "Those feelings...Cherish them."

"And the friend who help you take that step." Hinako stepped forward.

Reita looked at her confused.

"It wasn't just a coincidence that we appeared here." Izumi said. "We actually had a little help from someone." Izumi turned to the door and motioned for Sayaka to come in.

Sayaka timidly made her way to them. Reita's eyes widened. Sayaka went up to him and she held out a handkerchief. "Are you alright, Takasugi?" Sayaka asked.

Reita stared at it for a few seconds before looking at her, and he slowly grabbed the handkerchief. He gave her a small smile before nodding.

"That's goodness…I was worried about you." Sayaka said. "If you cost trouble to my grandmother's school again, I will kick your ass! Do you understand me?!"

Class 3D and Yankumi stared at her in disbelieve. Earlier Sayaka was innocent and fragile person, but now she was acting all strong and determined?!

"Your grandmother's school?" Izumi tilted her head, looking confused.

"Yeah, my grandmother owns Akadou Academy." Sayaka stated. "She's the chairman."

"Her grandmother's name is Akagi Ryoko…" Hinako added. "She is Akagi Sayaka, the grandmother of Akadou's chairman."

"EHHHHHH!" Everyone (including Yankumi) looked at her in shock.

"Well, that explains a lot." Izumi said as class 3D nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's go." Yankumi smiled. "It's graduation time."

"What? But looking like this?" Honjo asked.

"We're going." She said.

Ren nodded. "Let's go! Everyone together."

"That's right." Yamato smiled. "Let's go with our chests up."

"Will you be alright?" Hinako asked, looking at Reita.

Reita didn't say anything. He just huffed at her question.

"Don't you worry about Reita." Sayaka said, returned to her old self, the cute innocent self. "I'll make sure he gets back to school."

"Alright." Yankumi smiled bigger. "Let's go!"

"Oh!"

With that said, they started to run to the school, while Sayaka waved at them as they left.

While running, Hinako couldn't help but smile and laugh.

Outside the school, there was Sawatari and Baba-sensei.

"I apologize that we're late!" Yankumi said.

"What's with you guys?!" Sawatari shouted.

"Well, there's a good reason…" Yankumi replied.

"Up until the last minute…" The Chairman appeared. "Were they fighting?"

"No, they weren't!"

"We can't let them into the ceremony looking like this." The chairman said.

"Please wait. There's a good reason. They fought to protect something important." Yankumi explained. "They couldn't make it to the graduation ignoring it."

"Miss Yamaguchi, are you saying that these kids are qualified to participate in the graduation ceremony?"

"Hai."

The chairman looked at them for a moment before looking back at Yankumi. "Understood."

Hinako gasps in shock and hugs Yamato tightly. Yankumi quickly reminds them of posture and manners before allowing them to go to their chairs. They all sat in their section and waited for Sawatari to call their class. After what seemed like forever, he finally called them.

"Class 3-D! 30 students!" Sawatari announces. The class responds politely and stand up. Yankumi called out their names one by one. They went up to the chairman who handed them their diplomas and bowed to her. Then, Yankumi called Hinako's name. "Takaishi Hinako!"

Hinako nervously fixes her blazer as both Izumi and Ren gives her an encouraging poke from behind Yamato.

"Hai!" Hinako replies, trying to hide her nervousness. She slowly walks up to the podium. They all watch as Hinako receives her diploma. Izumi and Ren both smiled, and they look over at Yamato, who was smiling at his girlfriend. They watch proudly as Hinako comes back down, with tears in her eyes. Hinako finally fulfilled her promise to her brother Hiroki.

Once everyone had their diplomas, Sawatari continued to speak.

"Now to continue...the congratulatory address. Representing the faculty, class 3D's homeroom teacher, Miss Yamaguchi."

Yankumi walked up to the podium. She held up a paper and started reading.

"To all the graduates, and people here in attendance, congratulations for today. On this day, looking at all of you, fine young people, about to leave Akadou Academy..." Yankumi paused and looked at her students for a while before laughing. "You guys...couldn't help but do something reckless to the very last minute, could you?" When she said that, she placed down the paper confusing everyone in the room. "I'm sorry that they're here on this formal last day looking like this. But I can only be proud of them. Not being slick or shrewd, these students face various obstacles everyday, but still try to go down the straight path. I'm glad I became a teacher from the bottom of my heart. I can't say that the surrounding environment for children is great these days. However, I don't want you to blame the present age. What's important shouldn't change depending on the time. No. It should never be changed. Knowing one's pain. Thinking of your friends. Thinking of your family. Not lying about things. Trusting in people. These might be embarrassing to say. But we must tell these things straight without embarrassment and fear. I believe that it's an adult's duty to convey these things to them. Listen carefully guys. Once you're out in society, you'll be lost and troubled and sometimes at a standstill. There may be times when you want to give in when everything goes wrong. This is what life's about. But...don't be afraid to change onwards. If things don't go well, don't blame it on someone or something. With confidence in the things you learned at school, I want you to live facing forward. You guys should've learned. That no matter where you are or what you do, you can change if you put your mind to it. That if you courageously take that step, new possibilities await. What's most important is what's inside of you. Congratulations on graduating."

Everyone was silent until the teachers started clapping then stood. The parents stood up clapping. As always, Yankumi never fails to bring tears to her students' eyes. They all listened attentively as they listened to her encouraging speech one last time.

'Mom…Dad…Hiroki…I did it. I've graduated.' Hinako felt tears in her eyes.

Class 3-D went back to their classroom. They sat in their desks with their diplomas and graduation albums on their desks. Yankumi walked in and stood at the front. Before she could say anything, Sawatari walked in as well. "A second, Miss Yamaguchi."

"Head Teacher."

Sawatari handed her some papers. "These papers are companies who have offered interviews. Please hand it out to Kazama and the others."

Everyone in the room looked at him in shock.

"Head teacher, why?" Yankumi asked as she smiled.

As always, he quickly gave an excuse. "It's obvious that these lost souls will go off-track if we throw them out into society like this. Our school's name will be tarnished if that happens. Please don't misunderstand. I'm doing this for the school's honor..."

Ren cut him off by slamming his hand on his desk. He stood.

"Thank you."

Next, Kura stood. "Thank you."

"It's too early to be relieved." Sawatari huffed. "It's only interviews."

He went to leave, but Yankumi stopped him.

"Head teacher Sawatari. Thank you for giving them strict guidance." She bowed.

Suddenly Yamato stood. "Thank you."

Sawatari and Yankumi turned to the class as the rest of them stood.

"Thank you!" They bowed.

"You give me the creeps." Sawatari said trying to hide his smile. "Listen you guys. You've graduated admirably. Don't you come back."

He left. They rose and smiled at each other. Soon, they left the classroom and made their way to the gates with Yankumi behind them. But stop before they even got to it and turned to Yankumi.

"This is where we part." Yankumi said.

"Yankumi." Ichi spoke. "We have something to show you."

"What is it?"

"Over there." Honjo said pointing towards the school.

She looked to see something on the Akadou tower.

"Ready, set...3, 2, 1, 0!"

The banner dropped. It said 'Thank you Akadou Academy' and 'Thank you Yankumi' with a picture of Yankumi and a big '09 at the bottom. We smiled proudly at it as Yankumi stood there stunned. We started crowding towards Yankumi.

"It's a masterpiece, isn't it?"

"Everyone made it for this day."

"We thought we might not make it on time."

"Now lastly…" Ren walked in front of Yankumi and put his hand out. "C'mon."

"Oh!" The rest of the class all crowded around and put their hands out toward his. Yamato put his hand on top.

"Akadou is...our alma mater!"

Yankumi put her hand on top of his.

"Fight-oh."

"Oh!" They all threw their hands up in the air.

They broke apart and said good-bye to Yankumi. But before they made it to the gate, Hinako had something she wanted to say. "Let's take a picture as a keeper!" Hinako suggests as she pulls out a camera. The class nodded in agreement and smiles. Grinning, Hinako asks a random parent passing by to take a picture of them.

"Wait!" Izumi yells. "Don't forget Yankumi!" Suddenly Ren run towards her, and the others seemed to have gotten the same idea. The classroom swooped in and all of them, expect Yamato, Hinako and Izumi, lifted their teacher up. "You can take the picture now!" Izumi said as the parent laughed, taking the picture and returned the camera to Hinako.

Everyone crowded around to peek at the picture. They all laughed as they saw their teacher's face, and in the front were Yamato and Hinako, who were kissing.

"Awww! How cute!" Kamiya teases.

"You better give us copies of this Hina-chan!" Honjo threatens jokingly.

"You guys can all get your copy at my and Yamato's wedding next week!" Hinako announces proudly.

"Wedding?!"

"Show me Hinako…" Yamato smiled.

Hinako hold up her left hand and there was a diamond ring on her fourth finger.

"Yamato proposed to me." Hinako said, smiling. "And I said yes."

With that said, everyone started to cheer. "Here are the invitations." Yamato says and begins to pass out the little cards alongside Hinako while the class pushed for it.

"Well, I guess graduation turned out perfectly, don't you think?" Hinako asked Yamato, giggling.

"It sure did." Yamato said as he pecks her.

After that, they all took that step outside the gate. And that step out into the world together…

 **Author's Notes**

 **Sorry for keeping you guys anxious and impatient.** **In the next chapter will be Yamato and Hinako's wedding!**

 **After that, I will be making a sequel (Gokusen The Movie) and a side story for Reita and Sayaka. So please wait for those. Thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoring, and following. Hope you liked my story because I had lots of fun writing it. Thank you again. -bows- ~Sydney-Chan7 XD**


	22. Wedding Special

**The big day finally arrived, the day that Yankumi and her students have been waiting for. That's right, it's finally time for Yamato and Hinako's Wedding!**

"Do I look ok?" Yankumi asked herself as she paces back and forth. "What if I trip over? What if I don't look beautiful to Natsume-sensei?!" The teacher falls to the ground dramatically, imaging herself and Natsume-sensei as the couple about to marry.

"Yankumi, it's not your wedding. You're not even the maid of honor. I am." Izumi states dully as she stares at her teacher. "May I remind you that it's Yamato and Hinako's wedding?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot!" Yankumi gasped. "Once again, congratulations, Takaishi. Or should I say, Mrs. Ogata?" The crazy, yet beloved teacher, grins widely.

"Yes, once again congratulations." Sakura-san said to her as Izumi brushed Hinako's smooth hair over and over.

"You look so beautiful in your dress." Aoi-sensei compliments.

"Can you stand up so I can see the dress fully?" Ami-san asked.

Smiling, Hinako stands up and begins to feel nervous when the girls looked at her intensely. Yankumi, Ami-san and Ms. Ogata all gasp in awe at Hinako's wedding dress. Her dress is almost like a princess dress. More like a ball gown. Hinako's hair was curled and pulled up in a high bun. Her dark brown eyes were sparking like the diamond necklace around the neck. She tilted her head revealing her beautiful veil. Underneath, Hinako wore a pair of silver glittery high heels.

"Thanks for being my maid of honor, Izumi." Hinako said as she sits back down. "And thanks for doing my hair, you're the best at hair styling."

"No problem, Hinako." Izumi replies. "I'm just glad the person you chose ended up being your true love."

For some reason, Yankumi began to pace back and forth again, mumbling the same things she had just said earlier. Ms. Ogata offered to go out to the hall to check on how the preparations for the ceremony and party were coming. Izumi was able to finish Hinako's hair in about 10 minutes.

"Wow, these look so pretty!" Yankumi gushes as she held up the little hair accessories from Izumi's bag.

"Thanks, Yankumi." Izumi said. "Which one of these do you think looks better for Hinako's hairstyle?" Apparently asking Yankumi was a big mistake because she loved all the accessories so much that she wanted to use them all on Hinako. Luckily Izumi help her and chose accessories that actually make sense. In the end, Izumi put on silver flowers in one straight line on the right side of her hair, making sure that they weren't covered by the veil. Placing the tiara carefully on Hinako's hair, Yankumi helps Izumi spread the veil out.

"My student looks so beautiful!" Yankumi gushes, squeezing the life out of Hinako.

"Yankumi! Her face is turning red!" Izumi yells. "If I knew you could do that, I wouldn't have put so much blush on her."

Meanwhile, Yamato and the boys were getting ready for the wedding as well…

"I can't believe Yamato picked Ren to be the best man instead of me." Kamiya complains. "I am way better friends with Yamato!"

"Calm down, Kamiya." Ichi stated. "We need to just focus on getting Yamato ready. After all, he's the groom."

"I know…" Kamiya pouts.

"Hey, no fighting at my wedding…" Yamato commands as he fixes his hair one more time. Before he looks in the mirror to check on his suit. He was wearing a black tuxedo, with a black bowtie and black shoes. Everything was straight, neat, and clean. 'Perfect!' Yamato thought to himself.

"So…Yamato, how are you feeling?" Kura asked.

"A little nervous, but I know Hinako will be mine after today." Yamato answers with a smile.

"Good luck Yamato, this is going to be your future." Honjo jokes with him.

"The ceremony will be starting soon, let's go to the hall." Ren said as he ushered everyone out the door.

"Who's going to film the wedding?" Kamiya asked, curiously.

"Kumai-san said he will take care of the filming." Ren answered, while holding Hiroto as the ring bear.

~Back at Hinako's dressing room~

"Okay, everyone! It's almost time for the ceremony!" Ms. Ogata said.

With that said, Yankumi and Ami-san went straight to the hall with Izumi, who was holding Yumiko, the flower girl.

'In a few hours, I'll be with Yamato and nothing will tear us apart…' Hinako thought to herself as she waits for the cue.

In the hall, the music begins to play as Izumi walked down the aisle, while holding Yumiko and throwing little rose petals in the air from Yumiko's little basket. Next up was Ren who was holding the ring bear Hiroto in his arms while walking down the aisle. Then, it was Yamato's turn to walk up along with his mother. Once he reached the top, everyone turned to wait for the bride to come. Hinako lets out a deep breath. She didn't realize that she was holding it when she saw Yamato.

'He looks so handsome…' Hinako thought to herself as she walked down the aisle.

Once she reached the top, the ceremony proceeded with no problems at all. The two said their vows and faced the priest for the ceremony. "I declare you two husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride." With that said, Yamato turns to Hinako to face her and lifts her veil. He slowly tilts her chin up and leans in.

"I love you…Ogata Hinako…" Yamato quietly whispers to her so no one else can hear and claims a kiss from her lips, sending the audience into a wild cheer. He then proceeds to pull her closer as Hinako mirrors his actions by wrapping her arms around his neck. The two would've continue if it had not been for Yankumi.

"Too long!" She coughs loudly, causing those who heard to laugh as Hinako and Yamato jump apart.

"Now it is time for the speeches! First from the best man, Ren!" The crowd cheers for Ren, who nervously gives Hiroto to Yamato and walks up to the podium in the front.

"Hello…everyone…" Ren begins to speak. Seeing as he was nervous, some of the audience members lightened the atmosphere by returning the hello. "I've been friends with Yamato since high school. Well, our last year of high school. Back then, the two of us didn't get along at all. Always at each other's throats…" This cause the audience to laugh and Yamato to jokingly glare at his friend. "But even though we had our differences, we eventually became friends." He turns towards Yamato and Hinako. "May you two have a wonderful life together along with your twins. Thank you!" Ren ends his speech with a cute pose, pulling even more laughter from the audience.

"Now give it up for Izumi! The bride's maid of honor!" Izumi gives Yumiko to Hinako and elegantly walks across the stage, getting wolf whistles from some of the guys until Ren and Izumi glared at them.

"I've known Hinako since our first year of high school…" Izumi starts to speak. "She's the reason I've kept going in my life and I was proud that she chose me to be her maid of honor. Hinako is the bestest friend I could ever ask for. When she met Yamato, I knew she found her knight in shining armor. When you think about it, this couple is perfect in the sense of a princess and her beloved knight. Princess Hinako will always be protected by her knight named Yamato, am I right everybody?!" Everyone cheered loudly to support her claim of the couple. Hinako begins to blush and look down, so Yamato tilts her chin up and pecks her to calm her down, but only causes her to blush even more. "Aww isn't that cute? This is a day to celebrate the princess and her knight so let's give it up to them one more time!" Once again, the crowd cheers as Izumi walks off the podium.

"Now it's time for Hinako and Yamato's homeroom teacher, Yamaguc-"

"HELLO EVERYONE!" Yankumi greets walking up and waving. "My name is Yamaguchi Kumiko. I teach math at Akadou and incidentally, I'm single!" Her introduction is met by silence and some of the audience whispering to each other. "Well then…So I have been there since the beginning of Hinako and Yamato's relationship and now I'm very happy to see them tie the knot! Even in class these two could never keep their eyes off of each other. Hinako and Yamato have been known as the perfect couple in class, and I can't wait to see how they are in the near future. The two have had their occasional arguments, but those arguments made the two grow closer until they were in love…" Yamato facepalmed himself as soon as Yankumi sprouted more and more awkward facts, until Honjo, Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya pulled her away from the podium, causing the audience to applauded.

"Well…excuse that strange event folks…Now let's just start the speeches from the family members now." Sadly, Hinako's parents and brother weren't there to make some speeches. Only Yamato's mother gave a speech, an appropriate speech. After that, the couple prepared to walk to the car (first, they gave the twins to Ms. Ogata). Hinako stops at the top of the stairs and told everyone to get ready to catch the bouquet. She closes her eyes and throws the flowers over her shoulder. Hinako looks at Yamato in confusion when she heard some of the guys laughing. Yamato smirks and motions for her to look. Turning around, Hinako bursts out some giggles when she saw Yankumi holding the bouquet.

"Let's congratulate the couple!" Ren and Izumi scream together and start the descend by being the first to throw rice at the newly wedded couple. Yamato leads Hinako down the stairs of the church as their friends and family threw rice at them. He opens the door for her like a gentleman and closes the door after he gets in. While everyone else gets into other cars and prepared to go to the next location.

"About earlier…" Hinako whispers shyly. "I love you too…Ogata Yamato…" Without another word, Yamato pulls her back into him and the two begin to make out heavily in the back seats.

Everyone arrived at the final location, which is a restaurant, everyone ate, danced, laughed, and enjoyed themselves as Kumai-san walked around recording everyone. Hinako offered to find someone else to record the party so he could have his own fun, but he insisted since he said he caught some funny footage.

"I guess Izumi is right." Yamato said, out of nowhere.

"About what?" Hinako asked as she tilts her head in confusion.

"I'm going to be your knight from now on…" Yamato said as he picked her up and twirls her around, sending Hinako into fits of giggles again. The rest of the night Yamato spend every single moment by Hinako's side, holding her hand. The only time he let go is when one of them had to go to the bathroom or he decided to hold her by her waist instead of her hand…

 **Author's Notes**

 **Hello! Before you say anything, I'm sorry for updating so late. But I've been having a case of writer's block. I was gonna add a honeymoon special in it but I've been running out of ideas and I have lost all of my ambition to continue writing for this story. But that doesn't mean that I'm not adding the movie special and I'll finally be able to be done with the story. And maybe I'll add a side story about Reita and Sayaka. Again thank you all for reading, liking and reviewing. I hope you all will continue to like and review. ~Sydney-Chan7**


	23. Gokusen The Movie

**Kumiko Yamaguchi, a.k.a. Yankumi, is now overseeing the new students of Class 3D of Akadou High School, who still have not opened up to her and are giving her a hard time.** **Meanwhile, trouble is brewing for Ren, a former 3D student who just graduated. The police are after Ren for being involved in an illegal drug transaction. Upset Kumiko tries to find him with the other former 3D students. However, they later find out from her grandfather, the head of the Oedo Family, the shocking identity of the mastermind pulling the strings of the drug deal Ren is being accused of…who is it?**

Hinako awoke to the sun shining through the little crack in the curtains. With a smile, she stood up and stretched. She walked over to the window and opened the curtain, letting sunlight pour into the bedroom. Hinako closed her eyes, enjoying the heat when a groan sounded behind her. She turned to the body bundled up in covers in the bed. Hinako got back into bed and she slowly pulled the covers back to see the love of her life, Ogata Yamato. She gently ran her fingers through his hair until something sparkled. She raised her left hand to see her engagement ring. Hinako smiled thinking back when she was still in high school, the birth of the twins, and when Yamato proposed to her on graduation day. It's been only six months, but it was still the greatest day of her life. A hand gently took Hinako's bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked back at Yamato to see his brown eyes looking at her, curiously.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about us." Hinako replied while leaning down and kissed him.

Hinako got off the bed only to be pulled down by Yamato and into a warm embrace.

"What about us…?" He whispered.

"I was thinking about when we officially first met because that time when we were freshman doesn't count…" Hinako explained as she and Yamato laughed. "About the time when you confessed your love to me after we prove you innocent, when Hiroto and Yumiko were born, and most of all, when you proposed to me…"

"Those were good times." He smiled.

"Yes, they were." She smiled as she wiggled out of his arms and went to the nursery to see Hiroto and Yumiko, who are both wide-awake.

"Good morning, you two." Hinako cooed at them. "Looks like you two are awake. Are you two awake?" Hinako first picked Yumiko up. Her brown eyes that completely matched Yamato's eyes, moved around the room. It seems she's looking for someone.

"Oh? Are you looking for papa?" Hinako pouted as Yamato walked in with a yawn.

Yumiko smiled at Yamato and reaches her arms out for him. He smiled before taking her into his arms. He looked at Hinako to see her pouting.

"What?"

"She only wants papa and not mama." Hinako mumbled as she crossed her arms.

"That's because she likes me more." Yamato snickered.

"What?!" Hinako's jaws dropped. "She does not."

"Does too." Yamato replied. "Also, there's someone who wants mama." He pointed behind her, and she saw Hiroto, reaching his arms out for her. His dark brown eyes matched Hinako's.

Hinako smiled at him and picked him up. "Whatever you say, Yamato. But you just wait, someday she'll start to notice boys and maybe she'll have a boyfriend..." Hinako said as she walked out.

"What?! Who said she'll have a boyfriend?! No way!" Yamato said, holding Yumiko close and shook his head.

Hinako laughed. Poor Yumiko. She has a over-protective father. Hinako went outside and grabbed the mail. When she came back in, Yamato was trying to make breakfast as Yumiko watched him from her highchair. While putting Hiroto in his highchair, Hinako smiled when Yamato would turn to Yumiko and make a funny face making her laugh. Once Hiroto was in his highchair, Yamato turn to Hiroto and make another funny face, making him laugh as well. Yamato was such a great father.

"So, are you still meeting with Izumi and the boys later today?" Hinako asked as she sorted the mail.

"Yeah, we're meeting at Kumai-san's." Yamato answered as he cooked some bacon and eggs. "You can come too, you know."

"I know, I know. But I have to go to the cemetery today, remember?"

Yamato paused a little before putting the eggs on the plate. "Oh yeah. Today's the day of your brother's..."

"Yeah..." Hinako nodded.

It was the anniversary of the death of Hinako's brother, Hiroki. Yamato knew she didn't like talking about her brother or what happened the night he was killed. He never pushed her; Hinako was brought out of her thoughts when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist. Hinako leaned back into the owner's chest, who was none other than Yamato.

"If you want, I could go with you." He whispered into her hair.

"No, it's fine." Hinako shook her head. "I can go alone. But do you think you can take the twins with you to Kumai-san's? I know Izumi and the boys would love to see them. They haven't seen them in a while."

"Sure, I don't mind." Yamato said, as he moved his head to where Hinako's shoulder and neck met.

They stood there for a while until Hinako smelt something burning.

"Um...Yamato..."

"Yeah?"

"The eggs are burning."

"Oh, shit!"

With that said, he let her go and ran over to the stove. Hinako couldn't help but laugh. After they dressed up the twins and themselves, Hinako leaves them with Yamato and makes her way to the cemetery. Hinako was only a few blocks away when she heard someone calling her name.

"Hinako-san!" She turned to see Sayaka, Reita's so-called girlfriend or in his own words 'a girl who is just a friend'. Anyway, as she got closer, Hinako waved at her.

"Ohayou, Hinako-san!" Sayaka bowed.

"I see you're formal as ever, Saya-chan." Hinako smiled. With that said, Sayaka smiled and laughed.

"Where are you going?" She asked, while looking at Hinako's black dress. In other words, her funeral dress.

"Going shopping with my mother-in-law." Hinako lied. "So, what about you? From what I heard, you got into Akadou."

"Yes, I did." Sayaka nodded. "Thanks to you and Izumi, more girls wanted to join, so I signed up too. I thought about giving it a chance."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain 3-D student, would it?" Hinako asked as she winked.

"What?! No!" Sayaka blushed, because she knew Hinako was talking about Reita.

"Right..." Hinako raised an eyebrow. "Well, I better get going. It was great seeing you again Saya-chan. Maybe next time you, me, and Izumi can talk about _that_ 3-D student who has nothing to do with you going to Akadou..." With that said, Sayaka blushed harder than before.

"Ja ne, Saya-chan." Hinako winked.

"Good-bye, Hinako-san." Sayaka bowed, before walking off.

Hinako shook her head before walking towards the cemetery, again. She knew it was only a matter of time before Reita and Sayaka would start dating Reita, and they will eventually become boyfriend and girlfriend. They're acting just like Yamato and Hinako before they started going out and dating. And eventually become boyfriend and girlfriend. Hinako smiled by thought of it.

When she finally arrived at the cemetery, she gets some flowers to put on her brother's grave. After that, Hinako sits down in front of his grave. She spent the next few minutes sitting there talking to her brother. Including her parents. After that, Hinako made her way to Kumai-san's. As she walked in, Kumai-san greeted her and pointed where Yamato was sitting. When she got to Yamato, she saw Ren and Izumi sitting beside him. Ren was holding Hiroto, while Izumi was holding Yumiko.

"Hey Ren, Izumi." Hinako greeted them, while walking behind Yamato and putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Hey, Hinako." Ren smiled, before playing peek-a-boo with Hiroto.

"Hi, Hinako." Izumi smiled, letting Yumiko play with her chopsticks.

Yamato grabbed Hinako's hands and pulled them down, bringing her closer to him. Hinako rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Hinako only got a few seconds of peace before the shop's door was violently opened. Honjo, Ichi, Kura, and Kamiya came running in yelling out different things at the same time. Hinako removed herself from Yamato and looked at the 4 boys.

"What's up?" Yamato asked, getting Yumiko from Izumi.

"Why are you so worked up?" Ren wondered as Hinako got Hiroto from him.

With that said, they started yelling at the same time. Yamato, Ren, Hinako, and Izumi couldn't understand them.

"Huh?" Yamato tilted his head.

The four boys started yelling at the same time again. Still, couldn't understand them at all.

"Stop talking at once! Speak one at a time!" Yamato shouted, pointing his finger at them.

Ichi grabbed a water glass from the table and drank it then pasted it onto Honjo. Finally, Ichi spoke.

"Yankumi was walking with some dude!"

"What?!" Ren said as his eyes widened.

The girls' eyes widened. Even Yamato's.

"You guys saw them, too?" Honjo asked the other three boys.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." They nodded.

"He was totally good-looking, too!" Kamiya added.

"No way." Yamato laughed as he shook his head.

"I agree." Hinako nodded.

"You guys are hallucinating." Izumi laughed.

"Probably an illusion." Ren added.

"Yeah, you guys are hallucinating." Izumi laughed.

"We're not hallucinating!" Honjo argued.

"It's going to snow tomorrow!" Kamiya shouted.

"Like a snowstorm!" Kura added.

"Kuma, table for two!" A high voice called.

The eight turned to see Yanumi with a good-looking guy. Just like Kamiya said. Also, Kamiya's right, it is going to snow tomorrow. Izumi pinches herself to make sure it was real. Yankumi seated the guy down at a table next to theirs before she finally noticed the eight.

"Hm?" She turned. "Guys! Long time no see. How're you doing?" She smiled.

They didn't answer her. They were too shocked to say anything.

"What's so jawdropping?" Yankumi wondered.

"Aren't you, Odagiri?" Kumai-san said, walking up to the guy.

"It's been a while." Odagiri bowed to Kumai-san.

"This is Odagiri Ryu." Kumai-san starts to explain. "Yankumi's student from Kurogin High."

"Student?!"

"Well...that explains a lot..." Hinako whispered to Yamato as she sat down.

"Oh! So, that's how it is." Ichi said.

"So that's why..." The boys laughed.

"They were worked up because they saw you with a guy." Kumai-san said, smiling at Yankumi.

"They said it was impossible and it would snow tomorrow." Ami-san added.

"No way in hell can Yankumi get a hot boyfriend." Honjo stated.

"Never ever." The others agreed.

"How stupid of us." Kamiya said, making the others laugh.

"Really stupid!" They laughed harder.

"Like I said, no way in hell." Yamato smiled.

They continued to laugh.

"No way in hell, they say?!" Hinako heard Yankumi's voice.

Hinako couldn't help but to hold Hiroto closer to herself, and move closer to herself, and move closer to Yamato and Yumiko. Suddenly Yankumi stood up.

"That's enough out of you guys! Meet me outside now! What do you mean I can't get a..." She stopped when Odagiri grabbed the back of her collar.

"Calm down. There's two babies among us." He said, calmly before looking at Kumai-san. "Kumai, two bowls of ramen noodles."

"Got it!" Kumai-san nodded and took the hang of eight's orders as well. He left and they all sat at a long table. Hinako with Hiroto in her lap and she sat beside Yamato with Yumiko in his lap across from Ren and Izumi. Kumai-san came back with their orders and then sat down on the other side of Hinako across from is Odagiri.

"Yummy!" They said as they ate.

Hinako took out two bottles from her bag and gives one bottle to Yamato to feed Yumiko, while the other bottle is for herself to feed Hiroto. They began to feed the twins.

"You know, the three of you are great." Yankumi said as she looked at Yamato, Ichi and Kamiya. "You're attending school regularly without cutting."

"Yeah, somehow or another." Yamato smiled, while feeding Yumiko.

"You've all matured since high school." Yankumi smiled as she turned to Ren, Kura and Honjo. "How's work going for you guys? A bit more familiar now?"

"Just perfect!" Kura cheered.

"Kura is always making the boss mad." Ren laughed.

"Don't say it! Shush!" Kura shushed him.

"I always piss off my dad." Honjo sighed. "It's really tough to take over the tofu shop."

"Work is tough, no matter what it is." Yankumi looked at Yamato and Hinako. "Just like being parents to twins."

"You got that right." Hinako smiled, while feeding Yumiko.

With that said, the others laughed.

"They should quit paying us pennies!" Kura whined.

"I know!" Ren nodded. "That's why I'm getting a part-time night job."

"Part-time night job?" Yankumi looked at him in shock. "Which means..." Suddenly she covered her eyes.

"Baka!" Ren shouted. "It's a measly delivery job."

"Oh...I see." Yankumi lowered her hands with a sigh of relief. "For sure I thought you started a part-time job doing something seedy."

Suddenly, everyone laughed.

"Not even." Izumi laughed.

"Seedy, like what?" Kura laughed harder.

Yamato stopped laughing. "Yankumi, are you still having a tough time with your students?" He asked, curiously.

"Sort of." Yankumi nodded. "Even with Akagi Sayaka, the only girl in the whole class, the boys are still reckless."

"Well, we rejected her at first, too." Kura pointed out.

"Yup!" Ichi nodded. "Her lectures were super unbelievable."

"It's annoying till you get used to it." Honjo agreed.

"Remember, we bet on how many days she'd last?" Kamiya added.

"Oh! We did that, too!" Kumai-san said.

"Eh, for real?!" Izumi said, looking surprised.

"Yup." Kumai-san nodded.

"What about you, Odagiri?" Ren asked as he turned to Odagiri.

"Yeah, I think we did." He gave a slight nod.

"We all did the same thing." Yamato smiled.

"Seriously, it's a small world." Hinako added.

"Blows my mind." Ren smiled.

With that said, they all laughed until they heard a sniff. They turned to Yankumi.

"Are you crying?" Odagiri asked.

"Baka, I'm not crying!" Yankumi smiled. "I'm happy...my students from Shirokin, Kurogin, and Akadou are here with me. Everyone laughing...I'm super duper happy." She looked down. "I'm really hard I became a teacher."

When she looked back up, her glasses were foggy. They stared at her. Speechless.

"You're fogging up." Odagiri handed her a handkerchief. "Wipe them."

"Thanks." She nodded then wiped her glasses. They laughed.

"Hey, eat as much as you want." Yankumi announced. "Order anything you like. My treat."

"Awesome!" Izumi cheered as the boys cheered with her.

They started to order stuff, making Kumai-san jumped up. Yankumi cheers with them until Odagiri whispered.

"It's not payday yet, right?"

When he said that, Yankumi gasped and then stood up. "Um! No large portions. Also no roast pork in the noodles. Cancel the order of potstickers too, Kuma! Just more noodles, okay?"

"EH?!"

Hinako couldn't help but smile as the boys started to argue with Yankumi. Some things never change. Just like old times...

Elsewhere, Reita's friends were waiting for him along with his 'girlfriend' Sayaka.

Matsushita was watching Mochizuki and Muto were playing rock-paper-scissors while Igarashi was looking at his fingers. Until suddenly a group of bikers came behind them and grabbed them.

"Yo, can I borrow some money?" One of the bikers asked.

"Don't have any." Igarashi answered.

"Shut up and hand it over." A biker grabbed him.

Suddenly Reita came in running and kicked one biker away and punched the other two in the face.

"Reita!" The four boys smiled.

"Keep your hands off my friends." Reita said.

"Who are you?!"

"He is Reita Takasugi of Akadou." Sayaka answered. "You got a problem?"

~The next morning in Class 3-D~

"Those guys yesterday pissed me off." Mochizuki said, punching a soccer ball.

"Whoever they were, Reita and Saya-chan showed them." Muto added.

"They talked big but they were pussies." Igarashi laughed.

"You're awesome Reita." Matsushita said.

"Not really." Reita smiled at them.

"He is cool that way." Sayaka added as she smiled.

"Another fight?" A voice said.

"Is that a problem?" Mochizuki asked, pointing the person on the shoulder.

But then the 6 teens jumped back once they realized it wasn't any of them who said that.

"Don't pop out of nowhere!" Igarashi shouted.

Yankumi started to speak. "Fighting isn't necessarily bad but…"

"Then leave us alone." Muto cuts in.

Suddenly they heard sounds of motorcycles. Everyone in 3D (including Yankumi) looked out the windows and saw a motorcycle gang.

"Reita Takasugi, come out here!" The leader of the gang shouted. "I heard you two and my buddies got friendly yesterday."

"The guys from yesterday…" Mochizuki said.

"They're the Black Skull gang." Sayaka said.

"Black Skull?" Yankumi looked at her.

"A bad motorcycle gang." Sayaka answered as she looked at Reita who looked at her.

Suddenly there was the sound of police sirens. When the Black Skull gang heard them, they decided to retreat. "We're not done with you!" One of the members shouted before taking off in their motorcycles.

After they left, Sawatari called Reita, Sayaka, and the 5 boys to the office…

"Why on earth did you get involved with that sort?!" Sawatari shouted.

Yajima-san runs in along with Baba-sensei. "Principal, they seem to be a very violet group."

"Extortions, assaults…Many run-ins with the police." Baba-sensei added.

"Scary…" Aoi-san said.

"A fight with guys like that of all people…" Sawatari said.

"It wasn't a fight." Mochizuki said.

"Reita stopped them from extorting money from us." Igarashi added.

"You're saying it wasn't some foolish reason?"

"If you don't believe us, then forget it." Reita said.

"Reita…" Sayaka said.

"We can't forget it."

Everyone turned to Yankumi, who walked up to the 6 teens. "Is it true what you told us?"

"Yeah." Reita answered.

Yankumi looked at the six for a moment before turning to Sawatari.

"They're not lying." Yankumi said.

"You believe them?" Sawatari looked surprised.

"I do." Yankumi nodded. "If they're lying, I'll see it in their eyes."

"Are you sure? I'll hold you responsible." Sawatari said. "The next time your students cause trouble, you're fired."

"Fine." She answered. "I'm not afraid to lose my job for them."

"Yamaguchi…" Sayaka mumbled.

After that, the 6 teens returned to the classroom. Mochizuki, Muto, Matsushita, and Igarashi were really pissed about what Yankumi said as they walked in.

"See it in our eyes?!" Mochizuki said.

"She's trying to act tough." Igarashi added.

"She doesn't mean it." Matsushita said.

"Teachers are all the same." Muto added.

"You okay, Reita?" Sayaka asked.

"They're real bad asses." One of the 3D boys said. "Been arrested a lot."

"Seriously?" Muto stood up.

"They'll be back." Another 3D boy said.

"We'll be in deep shit." Another spoke.

Without warning, Reita got up from his desk and started to walk out of the classroom.

"Where're you going?" Mochizuki asked.

"To settle the matter." Reita answered.

"That's crazy." Matsushita shouted.

"They'll kill you." Igarashi added.

"You don't have to do this, Reita!" Sayaka shouted.

"I just don't wanna owe Yamaguchi." Reita said.

With that said, Reita runs out of the classroom. Sayaka turned to the 4 boys with an angry look on her face.

"Mochizuki, Muto, Matsushita, Igarashi…why'd you let him go?" Sayaka asked. "Why let him go alone?!"

"Because…" Matsushita didn't know what to say.

"Those guys are seriously bad…" Mochizuki added.

"Aren't you four his friends?!" Sayaka shouted. "You guys are unbelievable! I'm going after him!"

Without warning, Sayaka runs out of the classroom and out of the school.

"Hang on, Reita! I'm coming!"

Elsewhere, Reita entered the warehouse where the Black Skull gang is at, and he was talking to one of the bikers who was the leader.

"Fight me 1-on-1." Reita spoke.

"1-on-1?"

"If I win, stay away from us and our school." Reita explained.

"Did you hear that?" The leader said to his gang. The Black Skull gang laughed.

"Stop laughing!" Reita shouted.

"Too bad. I don't fight 1-on-1." The leader said.

With that said, an army of motorcycles come rolling in, filled with bikers. Then, the bikers began to attack Reita with wooden bats and metal pipes. Sayaka arrived to find that Reita had already been badly beaten. She began to fight with the group despite being outnumbered, clearing a path through to Reita. As she shielded Reita from being hit with a pipe she suffered a blow to the head and fall to the floor. When the Black Skull gang surrounded Sayaka, Reita suddenly got to his feet and came to Sayaka's side and they begin fighting together. The confrontation abruptly ended when suddenly a loud bang shook the warehouse and a small part of the wall caved in.

"Let them go…my precious students." A voice said.

"Yankumi…" Sayaka mumbled.

"Who the hell are you?!" The leader shouted.

"I'm their homeroom teacher."

"A teacher?" The leader looked puzzled as well as his gang.

The dust cleared and on the other side of the rubble was Yankumi.

"You really messed them up." Yankumi stated. "You're pathetic." She walked in. "All of you ganging up on two high school kids."

"We're teaching him a lesson." The leader said, pointing a metal pipe to Reita. "He gets this for being a cocky asshole." Then, he pointed the pipe to Sayaka. "This girl interfered and we're teaching her a lesson as well. Common sense, right?"

"Don't make me laugh." Yankumi said. "Common Sense? Don't pretend like you know what you're talking about!"

"Watch it." The leader said.

One of the gangsters started to Yankumi and she dodged him. "If word aren't enough, I'll fight you." Yankumi said. "Let me warn you. I don't hold anything back to protect my students."

Without warning, the leader starts to attack Yankumi. But dodged him. One-by-one she took them all down. One of them was about to hit Yankumi in the back of her head with a metal pipe. Until Odagiri appeared.

"Fighting is done with bare hands." Odagiri said.

With that said, Odagiri and Yankumi took the two thugs down. Including the leader.

"Haven't had enough?!" Yankumi shouted.

The Black Skull gang retreated. Some on their motorcycles, and some just run away.

After that, Yankumi turned to Odagiri to speak. "Odagiri…Thank you."

"No problem." Odagiri replied.

Then, they both turned to Reita and Sayaka.

Sayaka used a handkerchief from her pocket to tenderly wipe blood off Reita's cut lip.

"Are you okay?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah…I'm fine…" Reita replied. "You?"

"Never felt better."

Suddenly, Mochizuki, Muto, Matsushita and Igarashi came running in.

"Reita!" They ran right to Reita. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Reita replied, trying to get up.

"Sorry you had to come alone." Mochizuki first spoke.

"We're so sorry." The four boys bowed.

"Forget about it." Reita replied.

Sayaka didn't say anything, she just smiled.

"You guys…" Yankumi starts to speak as she walked up to the 6 teens. "Now you're real friends." She knelt down to look at Reita straight in the eyes, then brushes the dirt off his clothes. "So reckless, you…"

"No, you…what teacher fights?" Reita asked.

"This one. You fight to protect the things you cherish." Yankumi said.

Reita looked up at Yankumi. "Things you cherish?"

"Yeah." Yankumi replied. "I cherish you guys. Teachers have to protect their students." Then, she stood back up and looks down at her six students. "All right! Let's run into the sunset!"

"Huh?!" Her six students said.

"Follow my lead!" Yankumi said.

The next day, Yamato went off to work while Hinako stayed home with the twins. She thought it was going to be a normal day, but of course that wasn't going to happen.

"Hinako!" Yamato yelled out as he ran into the apartment. "I just got a call from Kura before I got to school. It's Ren!"

That's all she needed to hear. With that said, Hinako quickly dressed up the twins, then they dropped them off with Yamato's mom. Yamato told her how police came to Ren and Kura's work early this morning saying that he was dealing drugs. Hinako knew that wasn't true. Ren would never do that. He just got a job so he could support his sister. Ren wouldn't ruin that just by selling drugs. Yamato also told her that Izumi and the boys were calling everyone from the old class 3-D and were meeting up at the bridge right outside Akadou because they knew Yankumi would go out to find Ren.

They ran all the way to the bridge. Everyone was already there. They looked towards the school and saw Yankumi coming right up the bridge with her usual determined look on her face. Then, she stopped and looked at them in shock. They all ran up to her.

"Kura told me about Ren." Yamato stated when they got to her.

"The cops came to the office this morning." Kura explained. "Ren might get fired."

"He would never do anything illegal!" Izumi said.

"There must be a reason why he's running." Kamiya added.

"I agree!" Honjo said.

"Me too!" Ichi added.

"We believe in Ren." Hinako nodded.

Everyone nodded.

"He's our friend." Yamato smiled.

"Let's find him." Hinako added.

Everyone nodded again making Yankumi smile.

"You guys…"

Yamato stepped forward. "Let's go find him!" He shouted.

"Oh!"

With that said, everyone split up. Hinako and Izumi went with Yankumi and her group. They ran all over town looking for Ren. Soon they came across Reita and Sayaka along with their friends. They ran up to them.

"Takasugi! Akagi!" Yankumi shouted, making the 6 teens turn to them. "Have you seen Kazama?"

"No."

"He's in trouble, right?" Muto asked.

"He's done nothing wrong!" Hinako said, strongly.

"If you see him, please let us know." Izumi added.

"Understood." Sayaka nodded.

"Thank you."

Hinako and Izumi nodded to her before running off with their group. Soon they split up again. The girls stuck with Yankumi because if anyone was going to find Ren, it was her. Yankumi pulled out her cellphone and called Ren, but she didn't get an answer.

"Where is he?" Izumi wondered.

"We'll find him, Sakurai-san." Yankumi smiled.

Izumi nodded. They kept looking. Soon the sky turned dark. They all met up at the park. Yankumi told us to go home and she would continue to look. Everyone nodded with disappointment that they didn't find him yet. Soon the only ones left were Yamato, Hinako, Izumi, Honjo, Ichi, Kura and Kamiya. The 6 teens didn't want to call it a day. They wanted to keep looking. After she said that, her cellphone started to ring. She quickly answered it. It was Odagiri-san. He told her that Ren was at Akadou Academy, in Class 3-D. They raced toward the school and into class 3-D to see Ren sitting at his old desk. He had bruises on his face.

"Kazama!"

"Ren!"

"Thank god." Izumi sighed in relief.

Izumi, Hinako and the boys ran up to him.

"Why are you running around without telling us anything?!" Yamato yelled out.

"Not to mentioned that you had Izumi worried to death." Hinako added.

Honjo nodded. "We were all worried."

"We were out looking for you." Ichi added.

"You should've called!" Kura said.

"We're your friends, aren't we?" Kamiya asked.

Izumi knelt down in front of him. "You're not alone, you know."

He avoided her eyes.

Yankumi walked up to him. "Kazama, you're hurt."

Before she could touch him, he stood and backed away. Izumi quickly stood.

"I'm fine…" He whispered.

"Kazama...why didn't you come to me?" She asked. "Why? Say something!"

He looked down at his feet.

"He didn't want to trouble you." Everyone turned to Odagiri-san. "You'll go out of your way to help him. That's why he didn't tell you…" He looked at Ren. "Right?"

Yankumi turned to Ren. "Kazama..."

Ren gave a little sigh. "In high school...I caused you so much trouble. Even now, after I graduated...I was ashamed."

"Listen... A teacher welcomes trouble from her students." Yankumi said.

"But I'm not your student!" He argued.

"You...are my precious student." She grabbed his arms making him look at her. "Right now, I'm in charge of this class. But you guys who graduated and students from other schools... Are all my precious students. And you're not alone…" She looked at her students. "Not just them. Everyone else from 3-D was looking for you."

He turned and looked at them. They smiled at him. Ren dropped his head and began to sob.

"Gomen. You guys... I'm really sorry."

Izumi went up to him and she hugged him as he cried. Once he calmed down, he started to tell them what happened.

"I... found this sweet job through a friend." He explained. "All I had to do was make a delivery as instructed. But something was odd."

He explained that the instructions led him to a warehouse where a group of men in suit were waiting for him with a van. He said that one of the men told him to open the package he was carrying revealing three little weird statues. The man then told him to put the package in the van, but he was so nervous that he slipped, before he got to the van, braking one of the statues. He began to clean it up, but the man slapped him away. He and his group then started to quickly clean it. Ren said that's when he knew it was something bad. He said he wanted to quit and that he didn't know what he was delivering, but one of the guys started to beat him up. He said that the guy said that he had abetted a crime and that he should do as he's told. The man then got a phone call telling him that the police were coming so they left, leaving him alone in the warehouse.

"I was scared and ashamed." Ren said. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't even realize I had dropped my wallet."

"Why did you accept the job?" Yamato asked.

"I wanted money." Ren quickly answered. "Once I started working, I thought I could support my sister. But my salary's so low... That's why I jumped at the opportunity. I was an idiot."

He began to sob again. Izumi put her hand on his shoulder.

Yankumi sighed. "Listen, Kazama. Trying to make money isn't bad. But don't be fooled by quick easy money. Money is important. But it's not everything. Don't ever forget that." She turned to her other students. "You guys too." They nodded making her smile. "Okay." Then, she turned back to Ren. "You can stay at my house for a while."

With that said, Ren went to Yankumi's house. Hinako, Izumi, Yamato and the rest of the boys decided to stay with Ren. Later that night, Yamato called his mom to see if she could look after the twins for the night. After making the call, Hinako and Izumi overheard Yankumi talking to her two henchmen Tetsu and Minoru about the ringleader of the drug dealers who framed Ren.

"You guys are not going to believe what we heard right out the hallway." Izumi said.

"What is it?" Ren asked.

"Kurose is the ringleader of the drug dealers." Izumi replied.

"Kurose Kentaro?" Ichi said in shock.

"Yes." Hinako nodded. "He uses his success and company as a front for his drug business, and now he is trying to be a politician."

"No way…" Honjo said.

"You got to be kidding!" Kamiya said. "It was him the whole time?!"

"So, he's the one who framed Ren!" Kura added.

"That's unforgiveable." Yamato said as the others nodded in agreement.

With that said, Izumi showed a flyer of Kurose Kentaro. It said he was giving a speech tomorrow for his campaign. Tomorrow the gang of 8 is going to the campaign rally and make Kurose pay.

The next morning, the gang of 8 make their way to the building where Kurose is giving his speech.

"This is it." Yamato first spoke.

"It's huge." Honjo said.

"We should find some evidence here." Ren stated.

"Yeah, let's nail those jerks." Kamiya said.

"How do we get inside?" Ichi asked.

"The security looks pretty tough." Izumi added.

"What's that?" Kura asked, while looking straight ahead.

There was a big sign that said: Kurose Campaign Rally.

"Let's go to the back." Hinako said as she took off running with the others followed.

When they got to the back of the building, they hid behind a big bush. Suddenly Yamato's phone started to ring, and he answered it. It was Yankumi.

"Ogata, what are you doing?" Yankumi asked. "Where are you?"

"At the ringleader's?" Yamato replied.

"What?"

"Kurose Kentaro, right?"

"You idiot! Come back!" She shouted from the phone.

"OI! That car!" Ren shouted, before his mouth was covered by Ichi and Kura.

A black van was approaching and was about to enter the building. The eight knew this was their chance to get inside. After Yamato hanged up his phone, they run towards the van and entered inside it. With that, the van entered the building with the eight inside. When they got inside, they were in some basement area. They looked around to find some evidence of Kurose-san's secret drug business. Ren eventually found some after coming across a box with little statues. The same statues that he saw from the night at the warehouse. He smash one of them and inside was a bag of drugs. Because of that loud smash, they were caught by Kurose-san's men. One of them pulled out a gun and aims at the eight. Luckily, they were rescued by both Yankumi and Odagiri.

After that, Yankumi decided to go face Kurose-san on her own.

"I'll handle things from here." She said.

"What are you saying?!" Ren said.

"I can't put you guys in any more danger." She replied.

"But…" Izumi said as Yankumi turned to Odagiri.

"Odagiri, I'll leave them in your hands."

"Okay." He replied.

"YANKUMI!" The eight shouted.

"Why'd you let her go alone?!" Yamato shouted.

"You're telling us to leave her?" Hinako added.

"We do what we can do." Odagiri stated.

With that said, the eight looked down in disappointment.

~Meanwhile at Akadou Academy in Class 3-D~

Reita, Sayaka and the four other boys were hanging out in the classroom. They were wondering where was Yankumi and Odagiri.

"It's rare for Yamaguchi to be absent, huh?" Muto first spoke.

"Yeah, Odagiri too." Igarashi added.

"It's fishy." Matsushita said.

"Very fishy." Mochizuki added.

"Hey, Reita." Sayaka got up from her desk and went over to Reita. "Did you think something really happen with Kazama-kun?" She asked.

With that said, Reita didn't say anything. Not even a word. But he knew something wasn't right.

Suddenly one of the 3-D boys shouted out in surprise, which surprised the rest of the class. He was looking at his phone.

"What's wrong?" Sayaka asked.

"This! Look, look, look! Isn't this Yamaguchi?!" He asked.

With that said, everyone gathered around to see Yankumi on live TV.

"Yamaguchi!" Igarashi shouted.

"What is she doing?" Mochizuki said.

"Hey, hey. This looks bad." Matsushita added.

Reita and Sayaka looked at each other and nodded. Without warning, Reita rush out of the classroom and Sayaka runs after him.

"Oi, Reita! Sayaka!" Muto shouted out.

The four boys looked each other and then run out of the classroom. Then the rest of class 3-D followed them as well.

When they got there, one of the reporters outside shouted, "A gun! It looks like Mr. Kurose is armed with a gun! The police cannot move in. But just before that…"

"Yamaguchi…" Reita said.

Without warning, Reita and the rest of the 3-D boys charged to the door, but they were blocked by the cops and the swat team. "Move!" Reita shouted. "Our teacher is in there!"

Sayaka looked at the cameras and saw Mr. Kurose pointing a gun at Yankumi. She also saw both Hinako and Izumi with their 3-D classmates. While no one was looking at her, Sayaka quickly heads inside the building, desperate to help Yankumi and her senior classmates. She began to open every door to find them. When suddenly someone grabbed her from behind and put a bag over her head. Everything went black. Sayaka woke up after hearing voices.

"Everything I've built you've just destroyed." A male voice sneered.

"Everything you built was worthless anyway." A familiar voice said.

It was Yankumi's voice. When she heard it, Sayaka began to move around.

"Hey boss, looks like the hostage is awake…" Another male voice said.

"Good. Bring her right here." The first voice ordered him.

Sayaka was picked up by her arms and dragged then was stopped still being held. The bag over her head was removed.

"Sayaka!" She heard Hinako's voice.

Sayaka looked around to see Hinako and Izumi with the rest of old 3-D along with Odagiri-san. In front of them was Yankumi and Kurose-san. He was pointing a gun at her.

"What are you doing here, Sayaka?!" Hinako shouted.

"I saw Yankumi on TV!" Sayaka shouted as she began to struggle again the guy who held her. "And I saw Kurose-san pointing a gun at her, I got worried!"

"Let her go!" Izumi yelled.

With that said, one of Kurose-san's men punched Sayaka in the stomach.

The guys and Yankumi were about to move but Kurose pointed his gun back at Yankumi. Suddenly Sayaka broke free by hitting the two men in the stomach with her elbows and made a run towards Kurose-san to grab the gun. However, it was too late. Kurose pointed the gun at Sayaka and already fired hitting her in the chest. She dropped to the ground in pain. Her vision started to get blurry. Sayaka could hear a lot of voices all around her.

"Sayaka hold on!" Hinako shouted as Sayaka started to slip in and out of consciousness.

"Make way for the paramedics!"

"Sayaka, please hang on!" She could hear Reita's voice.

"She's losing a lot of blood! We need to get her to the hospital!"

Yankumi convinced the paramedics to let her and Reita ride in the ambulance. Before he got in it, he tells his friends to meet him at the hospital. Reita has been holding Sayaka's hand tight throughout the whole ride and when they arrived at the hospital, he and Yankumi ran right beside the paramedics with holding onto her hand in mine for what felt like forever, when a hand stopped me.

"Let her go son, she will be fine, she's in capable hands." The doctor that Yankumi likes said stopping him from going any further.

"We need to move faster. We're losing her!"

And just like that so slowly Reita let go of her hand as she was wheeled off to the operation room.

"We need to operate now."

Beeppppp...

Sayaka opened her eyes only to be welcomed by a blinding light. She quickly blinked getting her eyes used to the light. Then, she looked around the small hospital room to find herself alone. Sayaka sighed. How long has it been since Reita last visited her?

Sayaka started to sit up only to have a sharp pain radiate through her body from the middle of her chest. She let out a quiet scream before slowly resting her body back down. Then, she took a very deep breath through her nose then slowly released it through her mouth relaxing her body. Soon the pain faded. Sayaka lifted her right hand. It shook as she brought it to the spot on her chest where the pain still had a light pulse. Her fingers lightly brushed over a thick bandage. She let out a weak sigh as everything started flashing through her head. Her vision began to blur when the hospital door opened.

"Oh, you're finally awake Akagi-san…" Natsume-san said as he walked closer. "You've been out for quite a while. Almost a whole month."

Her eyes widened. "What?!"

Sayaka cringed as the same sharp pain soared through her body again.

"Please try to stay calm Akagi-san." Natsume-san quickly put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You don't want to rip your stitches."

Sayaka nodded as she started to relax again.

"Where Yamaguchi, is she okay? And my classmates?" Sayaka's voice cracked at the end from being so dry. Natsume-san adjusted the bed, so she won't lay flat. He handed her a cup of water with a straw.

"Drink that slowly…" He said while checking her monitor. "Yamaguchi-sensei and your classmates are all just fine." He smiled at her.

"Thank you, Natsume-san." Sayaka gave him the now empty cup and smiled weakly.

He nodded. "Now I'm going to give you something for any pain that you are feeling right now. And it will make you drowsy. Please don't fight it and try to get some rest. While you're out, I'm going to call your grandmother and tell her you're awake. How does that sound?"

"Sounds wonderful." Sayaka smiled. "I don't want her to worry."

He attached a syringe into Sayaka's I.V. Within seconds, she was feeling it's effect. Her eyelids began to close. Instead of fighting, she let herself slip into a nice relaxed sleep.

Sayaka awoke to the feeling of someone rubbing their thumb over her knuckle. She shifted before opening her eyes. She smiled looking into the eyes of the boy she loves. It was Reita.

"Hey…" Reita smiled.

"Hey…" Sayaka smiled back.

Reita kissed her right hand before pressing it to his cheek closing his eyes. Sayaka took this time to really look at him. She lifted her left hand and began to run her fingers through it. He opened his eyes, grabbed her hand out of his hair and held it gently.

"Sayaka…" He fell silent before speaking again. "I thought I lost you…" Tears began to form in his eyes. "I thought…you were gone."

"Please don't cry, Reita…" Sayaka took her hands out of his and wiped away his tears. "It's okay. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"

Reita nodded. "Good…" He murmured before quickly shooting forward and pushing his lips onto Sayaka's lips, the smooth skin feeling too nice against his own lips.

Sayaka made a shocked noise, eyes wide open before they slowly closed and she applied pressure to the kiss, parting her lips. Yamato sighed happily, tongue quickly flicking out over the other pair of lips, right hand coming to rest on the other side of the hospitalized girl. Reita climbed up onto the bed and hovered over her, letting their tongues entangle together.

A few minutes later, Reita pulled away and sat back on the edge of the hospital bed, panting slightly, not being able the help the small smile that twitched at his lips.

"You're not dead…" Sayaka pointed out, eyes flickering over Reita's face despite them being a bit glazed over.

"No, I'm not…"

"What…" Sayaka sighed, searching for the right words to use. "What does this mean?"

Reita stared for a moment at the unnaturally serious look on his girlfriend's face and shook his head.

"I'm not sure, but…" Reita ran his hands through his hair before wiping them on his pants.

"I want to find out…" Sayaka finished for him quickly, ignoring the red blush that rose to his cheeks.

"I guess I can agree on that." Reita smiled.

With that said, Sayaka slowly shifted so there was space on the bed for another person. She patted the space.

"I don't want to hurt you further…" Reita shook his head. "Or…"

"Reita." Sayaka cut him off. "Please. I just want to feel your arms around me."

He nodded before sliding into the space. Sayaka laid her head on Reita's chest as he wrapped his arms around her being careful with her I.V. Soon his breathing became even, and his muscles started to relax. Sayaka smiled as she fell asleep again, but this time was better because she was in the arms of the man that she loved.

And so Sayaka, Reita and his gang come to finally accept Yankumi as their teacher and things go smoothly…

 **~Author's Notes~**

 **First, I would like to say thank you to all of my readers who've been reading my Gokusen 3 fanfic. Second, I'm sorry to announce that I will be ending this story with the previous chapter. I'm sorry. I have lost all of my ambition to continue writing for this story. And I will not be writing a side story about Reita and Sayaka, so I am sorry for that as well. I will be writing other stories in the near future, so you better watch out for those, but as far as this story is concerned, it is complete. Again, I am sorry if I let any of you down and thank you again for reading my first story. I hope you'll read my other stories in the future. :) ~Sydney-Chan7!**


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